The City of the Lost
by fluffypigeon
Summary: A few months after Unending, SG1 discovers an artifact on an Ancient planet that may hold the key to the galaxy’s survival against the Ori. DV shippers welcome!
1. Chapter 1

Title: The City of the Lost

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Rating: T/PG13

Pairing: D/V

Warnings/Spoilers: SG1-End of S10; SGA-Mid S4 (AoT never happened)

Disclaimer: These lovelies do not belong to me. I just enjoy playing with them. Thank you MGM and all of your affiliates for letting me borrow them for a bit.

Summary: A few months after Unending, SG1 discovers an artifact on an Ancient planet that may hold the key to the galaxy's survival against the Ori. D/V shippers welcome!

Big hugs go out to Aeryn for being my beta :)

**Chapter 1**

She found him in his usual place, surrounded by shelves of old artifacts and his beloved towers of nonsensical books. As was customary, his nose was buried in the one that looked the oldest. It was in no doubt inhabited by those evil-looking dust mite creatures she had read about in the allergy pamphlets she had found amongst his things when she had been bored.

The space between his eyebrows was set in their permanent wrinkle of deep concentration as he slowly leafed through the yellowed pages of binding. He hadn't yet noticed his attractive visitor. He rarely did. His mind was always entrenched in old, other-worldly dialects, Goa'uld proverbs, or some other ridiculous thing she would never understand.

"Competing for my title again, Daniel?" she declared, soundly reintroducing herself to the quiet room as she sauntered away from the door.

He looked up from his book, startled. Blue eyes peered back at her behind wire-framed spectacles. He never seemed quite as overjoyed to see her as she always hoped he'd be.

Realizing quickly, it was only Vala, he gave her a knowing glance before dropping his gaze back to his work. "What title would that be?"

She shrugged, trailing her fingers along the table in the center of his office. "The whole 'having no life outside the SGC' bit," she said throwing her mane of dark hair over her shoulder. "It's a wonder you leave the base at all with all of these _fascinating_ books to keep you company in your free time."

He gave her a short frown at her sarcasm before quickly dismissing her.

Vala didn't let his lack of reaction bother her. It was the familiar way in which they interacted. She goaded him. He ignored her.

She turned away and let her eyes wander the shelves and walls for any new and interesting artifacts Daniel might have unboxed from their last mission. Her treasure seeking days may have been over, but that didn't mean that she still couldn't go through his things just for pleasure of it. Not that she held out much hope in finding anything. She had already exhausted every nook and cranny of his office only yesterday and the day before that and the day before that. By the look of his current activities, it was unlikely he had dragged himself away from his books to seek out the more exciting artifacts that they had retrieved from their last mission.

"Find anything interesting yet?" she asked in a bored tone while inspecting a familiar relic Daniel kept on his computer desk.

"I'm still struggling to translate the text on the artifact we found on P4X-587," he murmured searching the book in front of him. "I've been cross-referencing books of different Middle Eastern languages with little to no results. As close as I can tell, the closest origins it would have to Earth would be to that of the Aramaic language, but even that's a stretch."

She had no idea what Aramaic was, but she continued her query if only to be polite. "You mean that metal plate looking thingy? I don't remember seeing anything written on it," she said mindlessly rolling the old paperweight around in her palm.

"There wasn't," he continued looking up. "Dr. Lee noticed it while he and his team were going through a number of the artifacts we brought back. A short electrical burst from a naquadah generator brought ancient text to the surface."

"Ancient," she repeated. "As in _the _Ancients?" She placed the old relic back on his desk.

"Uh, no… I was referring to ancient as in…old." He turned to search his table for the object of discussion. "These glyphs actually have no similarities with any Ancient texts that I've studied." After a few seconds scattering his papers around, he found the object of discussion under a pile of papers in the left hand corner of his table. He lifted it and stared at it with a thoughtful frown. "However, it was found in a location that likely proves the artifact's existence during the time of Ancient settlement on the planet."

She gave the artifact a pointed gaze. "So, not Ancient."

"No. I don't think so."

She didn't reply. Her brows knit as she contemplated the strange-looking artifact.

He lifted his eyes to hers for only a moment. "It may be the reason why this group of Ancients seemed to ascend on such a massive scale. And it may be the reason why we never heard of this group of Ancients up until this point."

"Or maybe it has nothing to do with any of that," she added flippantly. By his expression, he clearly didn't appreciate that possibility. She tapped the table thoughtfully, "Maybe there's an Ori connection?"

"Well, nothing so far leads us in that direction. This artifact is likely to be millions of years old. The Ori had no knowledge of our galaxy until the last couple of years."

"So we assume."

He raised his brows at her. "The Ori have admitted as much. Their book of Origin makes no mention of this galaxy or planet. Nor have I found any reference to them on the Ancient artifacts we did find."

"Ancient as in _the Ancients_?" she commented for clarification.

He frowned again, only this time it was for her, "Yes."

She tipped her head, pursed her lips, and stared once again at the object. "How do you know it wasn't something used by the Ori that the Ancient's stole when they left their galaxy?"

He sighed and fully turned around to face her. "Vala, contrary to your past experiences and inclinations, not everyone is predisposed to steal."

She ignored his counter. "Theoretically, it is possible that the Ori may have a connection."

He didn't reply, but he didn't deny it either. He simply gave her an aggravated look.

Her mouth lifted at her miniscule triumph, but she didn't share it with him. Instead she turned her attention back to the artifact in his hand.

She couldn't deny the mild curiosity he had arisen. While all that jumbo mumbo he spewed often fell admittedly on her own deaf ears, she occasionally picked up information that intrigued her.

Before he had time to react, she deftly lifted it out of his hands and took a step back. Holding it up to the light to inspect it a few moments, she scrunched her face up critically. "It just looks like metallic plate-ware to me. What are the sporadically placed holes for?"

Daniel slowly and deliberately snatched the artifact back "I have no idea."

She huffed, not appreciating the mild derision in his voice. "No need to be so unpleasant. I was only trying to help. If my theories are so unlikely, _you_ must have some grand idea about what the artifact was used for."

He didn't immediately reply, but gave her a glance that told her she was becoming a nuisance, "I'm working on it."

Shoving a couple of his books over to the side to make space, she hopped up onto his table. "So, are you planning on working on this _all night_?" Then she made a face and rolled her eyes. "Oh, wait. That was a silly question. Of course you are."

"For a while, yes," he said, glaring slightly at the unwelcome torso now at eye level.

"I can think of some things you might enjoy more," she teased seductively, leaning her torso over into his personal space.

"I'm sure you can," he replied dryly, giving her a quick, knowing glance before returning his gaze to his books.

She was hardly offended. He rarely took the bait, but it didn't hurt a girl to try.

"Well," she said with a sigh, leaning back on her hands. "While you spent time locked up in here with your grimy books and dusty artifacts, Muscles and I enjoyed quality time together."

He hummed in reply, hardly sounding interested. He instead traded the book he had been looking at for another dustier one. Vala scrunched up her nose as she watched him peruse through the index in the back as a cloud of dust rose into the air.

"He and I spent the evening in his quarters," she continued, sliding a few inches down the table away from Daniel and his mite infested books. No wonder he had allergies.

"Yeah?" His brows were once again furrowed, as something in the text seemed to catch his attention.

"He was quite the host."

Daniel didn't reply. Apparently whatever he was reading was quite fascinating.

"And he was _very_ enthusiastic." She made sure to drag out the last part, her tone thick with implications.

The pages continued to turn at a slow pace, her words clearly not having the effect she wanted.

She huffed, "You're not even listening."

"You and Teal'c spent the evening together in his quarters. He was a very enthusiastic host," he said in monotone, not giving her the satisfaction of a look.

"Yes, he was," she agreed, the corner of her mouth lifting with a smile anyway. He _was_ listening. She shook her head and sighed dramatically. "Spending an evening with him was just plain exhausting!"

Finally, Daniel looked up at her pointedly. She stared back her eyes wide and unpretentious. "Have you ever _watched_ Star Wars, Daniel?"

He immediately dropped his head back and rolled his eyes, but she continued.

"Fifteen hours of 'in a galaxy far, far away'? It can take a lot out of a girl. Thankfully that awful Binks creature only had major screen time in the first two."

He didn't reply. She looked down and found him back to ignoring her, again. You'd think she'd be used to it.

She groaned, sitting up, "Come on, _Daniel_. I've left you alone to your books and ancient objects all day. I only stopped by to ask about your day and tell you about mine. You could at least pretend to be interested." She managed a noteworthy pout.

He looked up again from his work, and seeing her gloomy face, managed to look somewhat rueful. She smiled inwardly.

He sighed dropping the pencil in his fingers to sit between the pages so as not to lose his spot and finally gave her his full attention. "I'm sorry. Tell me about your day."

She immediately perked up, a dazzling grin lighting up her face at his attempt at sincere interest. As usual she had no idea of the real effect it had on him.

"So Muscles and I had our moviethon," she began, swinging her legs against the desk as she narrated. "We hung out at his quarters, ate delivery pizza, and later he made popcorn with a loud popping machine that spun the little kernels around. And he let me sit in his leather recliner that had a little cup holder. I, of course, contributed to our day of fun by purchasing carbonated beverages from the vending machines and by covering the popcorn in pretend butter," she finished looking pleased with herself.

"Pretend butter? I'm assuming you mean zero calorie butter."

"Same thing?" she asked cocking her head.

"Sort of." He looked mildly amused. "What else did you do?"

"It was a long drawn out affair. Many hours were spent in front of Teal'c's 60 inch television surrounded by surround sound." Vala's features scrunched up thoughtfully. "Is there something we missed?"

He managed a smile. "No. I'm sure it was great."

"It was," Vala said, though clearly she no longer thought so as her face now looked perplexed wondering if Teal'c had forgotten to include something in their moviethon adventure.

"And now you're off to bed?" He inquired, nodding at her state of dress, hoping the change of topic would encourage her to leave so he could finish up his work.

While pajamas had been her chosen wardrobe for the moviethon, she didn't allow such an insinuation to pass her by. When her eyes locked with his, they sparkled with mischievous intent. She purposefully hopped off the table and took her time to saddle up closer to him. "Is that an invitation?"

He looked mildly exasperated. "No," he said.

Her face sank in disappointment.

He promptly turned his focus from her back to his mountain of literature.

Her pout still in place she moved closer to him and leaned her cheek on his shoulder. Gazing sorely over it, she looked at the book he was studying again. "We don't ever do anything fun."

"Vala," he spoke warningly. This was not the first time she had started this argument.

She settled more heavily into the nook in his neck. "No, I mean it, Daniel. When was the last time you ever treated yourself to a fun adventure? With me? We're always locked away in here looking through your filthy books trying to save the galaxy."

His face scrunched up, offended. "My books are not -" Then he stopped and frowned to himself. It was amazing how he could be completely baited into battles with her over the stupidest things. "And saving the galaxy is bad, how?"

"Well, not the 'saving the galaxy' part…but the books? Well, they're just so incredibly dull."

He sighed.

"Not that _you're_ dull, Daniel," she interrupted, misinterpreting his sigh. "Well, not most of the time…" She lifted her head in thought. "Okay, well maybe some of the time-" He made a face and waved his hand briskly at her, informing her she should quit while she was ahead. She did, but sulked. "Everyone else takes time out to have fun with me."

He turned his head and raised brows at her childish whine.

She lifted her head off his shoulder and moved back so that he could see her full, slighted expression. "I am perfectly good company."

His expression didn't change. He clearly wasn't convinced.

Her brows furrowed as she felt a need to continue to defend herself. "Teal'c and I now have a standing movie day, once a month, where we can catch up with your Earth movies. When Samantha was here, every Tuesday afternoon she and I would go shopping on our lunch break. And Mitchell invited me to his high school reunion in Kansas a couple months ago and---okay, so I invited myself and had to beg him to let me go, but he eventually did and he never once tried to send me home, and… his mother _loved_ me. Apparently, I'm very likeable, despite what you may think."

"I'm not saying I disagree," he admitted. "I think you can be likeable."

She tilted her head as her face lit up in sincere surprise. "Really?"

He gave her a half amused look. "Yes, occasionally."

She beamed at him.

He looked away. "Unfortunately with the threat of the Ori only a few star systems away, these dull, _filthy_ books may hold the only answer to defeating them."

She sighed. "Oh, you always sound so doomsday."

"Because doomsday is exactly what we're facing, Vala"

Her shoulders drooped, immensely tired of this topic of conversation. "We face it daily. It's lost its new carpet smell."

"Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of not taking it seriously. There are other planets and star systems that are falling under the Ori occupation as we speak. The Jaffa? The Langerans? Numerous other planets? How do we ignore what they're facing right now? Or what they've had to face?" He laughed shortly, "Or what we're going to face."

She stared up at him, her blue eyes suddenly serious. "Daniel, you aren't responsible for all of the galaxy and all other civilizations in the universe."

"The Ori wouldn't even know about us if it weren't for me," he argued looking away.

That quieted her. He noticed and looked back over at her. Seeing her silent expression, his face immediately flooded with regret, knowing he had only reminded her of the responsibility she also felt.

She admitted it only a moment later. "If you brought the Ori here, then so did I. And actually I've got you beaten there too since I spawned their spiritual leader who has now ascended and probably has all the power of the dead ascended Ori in her pretty little pinky. So if anyone should feel responsible it's me," she said with finality. She sounded unaffected, though he knew her better.

She turned away and wandered back over to his desk. "I am barely managing the self-reproach I have towards myself about the whole Ori thing already. If I don't find something fun to do outside of this wretched place, well… as you know… I tend to be bothersome. I suppose it's an internal mechanism I have as a means to keep my mind off such things."

He didn't say anything. He simply studied her. It was rare when she admitted to her feelings, even in a self-diagnosis sort of way. More often than not she pretended to be untouched and nonchalant about things that really bothered her. The walls she had built up long ago protected precarious emotions. For the things that weren't so important she put on a grand performance and drove everybody, well, mostly him, crazy. Occasionally she fed him a piece of her more fragile self, though it was never intentionally. She preferred to stay ambiguous. There was less expectation that way. Though she could see by his expression, she might be broadcasting more than she preferred to at the moment. So she quickly returned to her more common state of being. Driving Daniel crazy.

Throwing her head back, she gave him a wounded expression. "Why can't we do something fun together, Daniel? You just admitted I'm occasionally likeable. Would it be so bad to spend an occasional hour with me outside the SGC?"

She plopped herself in his chair and continued before he could answer her question. "If you're worried about losing time, we could just stay here and have sex. It would take all of ten minutes and possibly relieve all this sexual tension between us," she finished with a cheeky grin.

His shoulders sagged, his surge of appreciation towards her faded as quickly as it had arrived.

Vala leaned an elbow on his desk. "When was the last time you took me anywhere?"

"I took you out to dinner."

"That doesn't count."

"Why?" he said with a sigh even though he already knew the answer to that question.

"Oh! Let's review, shall we?" she said returning to her feet. "On the way to the ladies' room I was injected with drugs via needle in the neck and later got zapped in the brain by the nice scientists with Goa'uld memory devices, which left me with no memory of myself while I wandered the streets like a homeless person. You don't really expect me to classify _that_ as a fun date."

He straightened. "Okay, first of all it wasn't a _date_. It was just din-

She waved him off closing the distance between them. "All the good intentions in the galaxy do not account for the fact that our date was a complete disaster."

"It was not a _date_," he ground out. But arguing this point with her was about as useless as talking to a log. He shook his head and rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Fine, _you_ plan something," he said before fully thinking out the suggestion.

She froze. Did he just ask her to plan a date for the two of them? "Really?"

She could see he immediately regretted the words. He grabbed another text off the pile, refusing to look at her, but he didn't retract the offer either. "Pick a day next week and we can spend a couple hours off base _having fun_." He made quotation marks in the air with his one hand for the last two words.

His sarcasm was not lost on her, but she didn't care. "You want _me_ to plan our date?" she inquired further, a grin beginning to spread. He was really going to let her plan an evening together? She'd seen enough of his television to get it right, even if he couldn't. Adrenaline and excitement immediately began to course throughout her whole body.

"Don't make me take it back."

She couldn't control herself. She tackled him with a side hug, her exuberance nearly knocking him over. He had to lean up against the table to make sure they stayed in an upright position. She released him just as quickly as she had jumped on him, but didn't step away. She looked up at him and continued to grin gleefully.

He stared down at her with a straight face.

"Any requests?" she queried cheerfully. She quickly thought better of her own inquiry and placed her finger to his lips. "No. I take it back. I'll do the planning." She grinned, seeing his wariness. But as she lifted her finger away and her gaze fell to his mouth, her white smile unexpectedly melted.

How was it that she could find herself so suddenly and inexplicably sensitized to this man? He was hardly her type. She preferred the old, wealthy, and unattractive type. Their inability to get women provided a plethora of opportunities for her and often suited her monetary needs. Attractive, intelligent archaeologists were hardly suited for those purposes and neither were the other men she was surrounded by on this planet, who made her work to receive any kind of sexual attention. So much so she even wondered at the beginning if all Tau'ri males were eunuchs. She was not used to having to work so hard for even this tiniest bit of attention. Nearly her entire adult life she had to keep men off her like pesky flies and now she felt like the fly, especially with Daniel.

However, at least she knew in his case the feeling was reciprocated, at least sexually. He'd seen her naked. How could the feeling not be reciprocated? But Daniel's unwillingness to act was becoming increasingly exasperating. Not that she had a particular problem with all of this raging sexual tension between them. It was at times entertaining to goad him with it. However, it would just be nice to actually act on it. Maybe if they just tickled this itch they had for each other, she would finally lose this desire to spend time with him every waking second of her day. It would certainly make her life easier. Not to mention his. Well that was assuming she was able to remain detached afterwards.

Sex was out of the question. Daniel pretty regularly made sure of that. Apparently, there was some unspoken rule that teammates shouldn't have sex. She didn't see the problem with it, but there was a history with Sam and General O'Neill where they had laid the foundation for unfulfilled foreplay. So she was forced to follow the same guidelines. It was extremely irritating. She told Sam as much on numerous occasions. Sam had only smiled in amusement with a shake of her head, hardly being helpful.

However, while Vala didn't like it, she did on some level understand. As much as she teased Daniel mercilessly, she knew she should probably never physically initiate that kind of relationship with him. Who knew what he would do or what would happen to this strange friendship they had if she did. Somehow she needed him. He was too important to play those kinds of games with. She couldn't explain it, but she feared if she ever really acted, there might be some unforeseen consequences in their friendship. She wasn't willing to take that risk, at least not yet. Not unless he gave her a sign that told her otherwise.

She lifted her silver blue eyes to his clear blue ones and wondered what was going on in that brilliant mind of his in that moment. Sometimes he could be so clueless, and yet in that moment, she didn't think he was. While he was trying to keep his expression dry and impassive, she could see by his eyes he was clearly fighting an internal battle to keep it that way.

So she made it easier on him. She manually brightened her expression and stepped away. No need in getting her hopes up for something that was bound to fall through anyway. Why not focus on what she could control. Planning. She gave him another appreciative grin.

"Night," she said dismissing him with a quick touch on the cheek. Then, as unexpectedly as she had arrived, with a half wave she skipped out of his office. "Off to plan," she called back as she exited.

She didn't worry about the impression she left Daniel with as she pranced away. Her only thoughts now were focused on how she should organize this little date Daniel had given her permission to rule over. Dinner? Movie? Parking? That was a type of date wasn't it?

Hmm… Mitchell would know. He must have done something right to have that blonde harlot all over him at his reunion. She quickly set her step to finding the Colonel.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Dr. Jackson."

Daniel looked up from his computer. General Hank Landry stood a few feet away, hands in his pockets, betraying a combined expression of sternness and amusement.

"General?" he inquired, his eyes curious.

"Ms. Mal Doran stopped by my office this evening. She was seeking some_ advice_," he finished raising his brows at the younger man.

"Advice?" The word came out slowly. Daniel hadn't quite yet determined what the general was implying, but he had the sinking feeling that whatever it was, it wasn't good.

"Apparently Colonel Mitchell, Sergeant Siler, and Walter weren't as helpful as she thought they'd be."

"Mitchell? Siler?" he repeated dumbly. _Oh, this definitely wasn't good._

"She thought my 'experience' might prove more helpful with helping her plan _your date_."

Daniel closed his eyes as mortification began to sink in.

"Am I to understand you put her in charge of organizing it?"

Daniel could only drop his head and shake it back and forth in disbelief.

"I thought you had far more sense in you, son."

"I did, too," Daniel said, rubbing his forehead tiredly.

"You understand that this kind of interaction between SGC employees is strictly frowned upon here," Landry said, his disapproving expression still in place. However, there was an obvious chuckle in his tone.

Daniel sighed in exasperation. "Sir, I assure you. It is _not_ a date."

The general nodded. He was clearly unconvinced.

"I'm only taking her out as a friend. She was complaining that now with Sam gone she has nothing to do and no friends. So I thought I'd make up for our last dinner and give her an opportunity to get off base."

"I see," was all he said, but his eyes said he clearly had a more detailed opinion on the matter.

"It's_ not_ a _date_." Daniel tried to clarify once again.

The general only nodded, but the corners of his mouth lifted in the barest smile.

"What did she ask?" he asked even though he knew he was only opening himself up to more humiliation.

The general's furry brows dropped thoughtfully. "I believe she wanted to know the definition of 'parking'."

Yep. More humiliation. He let loose a ragged sigh.

Landry only looked more amused. "Don't worry, son. I think I convinced her to keep _parking_ out of her plans."

"Thank you, sir," Daniel murmured in appreciation. He really did deserve this. Anyone who was foolish enough to allow Vala to plan their extracurricular activities deserved this kind of embarrassment.

Landry was also kind enough to take that opportunity to change the topic of conversation. He looked around the office at the piles of books and paperwork Daniel had been sifting through all evening. "I thought I ordered everyone to get a full night's sleep before our briefing tomorrow at 0900?"

Daniel put his pencil down and gave his commander a forced smile. He was still thinking about Vala and her plans. "Sorry, General. I've been trying to gather some information before we returned to the planet tomorrow. I keep getting distracted." He pointed at the PA speaker above his head, not bothering to mention Vala's earlier intrusion. The gate had been much more active than usual during the last few days and his research had been interrupted with numerous announcements of unscheduled off world activations the last couple of hours. "Busy night?"

The general nodded, but for the moment kept the gate's late night activities to himself. He looked over at Daniel's pile of research. "Anything new to share?"

"Admittedly, not a lot," Daniel said, getting out of his chair and walking back to his table. He motioned towards the artifact, which lay in the center of his mess. "The language that Dr. Lee was able to unearth on this artifact shows no similarities to that text or anything else we've studied and I can find no similarities to any languages that have originated from this planet. I've cross-referenced every Ancient text in my possession including the book of Origin, and there are no references to an object fitting this description."

"And the next step to finding out?"

"Going back to the planet. It will probably provide the best opportunity to learn more." He grabbed the table behind him and leaned his back against it. "I've just started looking into the Asgard database, but knowing how expansive that is, it will take time to get through it. More than a night."

"Well, if time is what you need, I'm afraid there's little I can do to help there, son. That's the one thing we seem to be running out of."

Daniel realized that the general's face looked much more weary than he had originally imagined. There was a heavy fatigue around his eyes that had been absent before. And for a second, he thought he saw trepidation in the older man's eyes. He finally inquired further. "Sir? Is everything all right?"

The general stared at him for a moment with a frown. It clearly hadn't been a good day, and he looked as if he was trying to decide how much to share. Vala's questions about the date had probably served as his only amusement of the day.

He sighed and began to walk the room as he explained. "As you know we've been receiving reports from all our allies about the Ori's continued advancement into our galaxy."

Daniel nodded and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting to hear more.

"We just received reports this evening that they've erected two more supergates using Katana and Benote as beachheads. Each supergate granting entrance to a half dozen Ori ships."

"What is the progress with Arthur's mantle?" Daniel asked immediately thinking of Merlin's cloaking device.

Landry frowned, "With Teal'c's help, we've been testing it on planets where free Jaffa are currently hidden and residing, but it is not in the final stages needed to hide whole planets and the longevity behind these concealing properties are still in question." He looked at the alien object on Daniel's desk. "We're running out of options, Dr. Jackson. Time is short and we have little to show in ways of defending this planet. Understandably the IOA is getting nervous. They want solutions and I am hard pressed to give them any. I had hoped that your exploration of this Ancient planet might hold the key to holding off an Ori attack. I hope that's not an unrealistic expectation, Doctor."

Daniel shook his head unhappily. "Sir, I wish I could be more encouraging, but I have no idea. I'd like to think that the unusual characteristics of this artifact compared to most Ancient artifacts and its survival in the Ancient timeline means that it may play an important role. According to Dr. Lee it existed on the same time period these particular Ancients lived. We're hoping that there's some relation."

"Was it used to help these people ascend?"

Daniel shook his head. "I don't think so. Ascension would only be achieved through conscious state of mind. The Ancients would not manipulate human cognitive choice into a device. It would go against their whole free will policy." He sighed and allowed his eyes to wander the room. "It's too early to say what this artifact was used for, but my gut tells me it's important to our survival."

Landry stared at him for a moment before widening his eyes in anticipation and said, "Well, let's hope so, Dr. Jackson." Then he turned as if to exit, when Daniel stopped him.

"General?"

He paused and turned his eyes on his resident linguist. There was clearly more going on than what he was saying. The general set his mouth grimly before giving a nod and deciding to share. "We extracted Jonas Quinn from his home planet of Langera this evening."

Daniel was stunned. He stood up with wide eyes. "Jonas?"

The general stayed at his position near the door. "Earlier this evening we received a data burst from Langera. We had heard nearly a year ago that the planet had fallen to the Ori. Naturally we were suspicious. The transmission, however, had included Jonas' old IDC code. The one he had used when he worked with SG1 under General Hammond. It included a recorded video communication from Jonas himself. Apparently he's been running an underground movement with the people of Kalowna and the Andari Federation since the Ori occupation began. He was able to amass intel on the Ori that he thought we might find useful. He asked that a team be sent so that we could extract his source and the intel he and his group have collected."

"By the look on your face, I'm assuming it didn't go well."

He frowned. "I sent SG5 and SG16 to retrieve the information and his source, but they were compromised. Only minutes later the gate had been reopened on the other side and we were receiving reports that our teams were under attack. Only two members of SG16, SG5's team leader, and Jonas returned through the gate. We haven't received any attempts at contact from the planet since."

"And the people who did return? Are they all right?"

"The injuries were serious. They're all in the infirmary now, getting treated by Dr. Lam's team, though she said it's unlikely Colonel Brautlaucht will survive the night," Landry said of SG5's team leader. "The other two are suffering mostly from broken bones and bruises."

"And Jonas?"

"It's hard to say. He has a head injury and hasn't been fully alert since first pulling the Colonel through the gate. Carolyn said we should be able to tell in the next twenty-four hours." Sensing Daniel's concern, he continued, "I wouldn't plan on any sort of visitation until those hours are up. Even if he does become alert, he will be heavily medicated and unable to give reliable information until Carolyn gives the okay."

Daniel nodded, wondering what sort of information Jonas gathered about the Ori. That he would attempt contact with the SGC, knowing the Ori occupation could gain access to Earth, must mean the intel was pretty important. Jonas hadn't been in contact with the SGC since nearly two years before the Ori occupation. He had been busy trying to maintain peace among the three dueling nations of his planet, particularly over the use of naquadria.

General Landry interrupted his thoughts. He was staring at the artifact now. "At 1000 hours Colonel Carter is returning from Atlantis to meet with IOA about their current problems with the Replicators and the Wraith in the Pegasus Galaxy. I'll make sure her schedule includes stopping by to help you out in any way she can with this artifact and any other issues we may be dealing with before she returns to her post."

"Thank you, sir," Daniel said, but his mind was still elsewhere, theorizing on all the new information he had just been given.

"Go to bed, Jackson," Landry told him firmly. "I don't want to see you in my briefing room unless you've had at least six hours of sleep."

"Yes, sir, " Daniel said, pulling himself away from his thoughts. He searched around the room trying to decide what to clean up first.

"Now, Jackson," the general ordered with brows raised.

Daniel paused hearing the no nonsense tone in Landry's voice. He looked sheepish. "Yes, sir." He placed the artifact back in the box it had been housed in before being sent down to him by Dr. Lee. Then he placed it on one of his bookshelves.

Catching Landry's irritated look at his lack of speedy follow through, Daniel quickly stepped away from the bookshelf and headed for the door realizing there was little else he could do without having to deal with the general's wrath.

He forced a smile at the disapproving face waiting for him in the doorway. "Good night."

"Good night, Dr. Jackson," Landry said in return and watched the younger man reluctantly walk off towards his quarters. He remained stone-faced when Daniel turned around to look and see if the general was still standing in his office. Daniel frowned to himself seeing the immobile general waiting and finally seemed to accept defeat as he turned the corner.

Landry shook his head. If the past few hours were any sign of what was to come, his archaeologist and the rest of SG1 would need as much sleep as they could get.

And so could he, he thought, deciding to follow his own orders.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"So, tell us about Jonas," Cameron Mitchell said across the cafeteria table over a spoonful of cereal before slipping it into his mouth.

They had just finished their briefing with Landry about their return mission to P4X-587 and as a group, had decided to grab brunch together before they left.

Daniel looked up from the book that he had been reading next to his tray. He had been trying to find other references to the planet, whether it be a name or a description he had hoped that he could find something to look for when they returned to the planet. But he was having little luck.

"Jonas?" He frowned thoughtfully. "I honestly didn't know him very well. He was a scientist on a planet steeped in civil war. When I met him he worked and experimented with other scientists on a derivative of naquadah called-

"Yeah-yeah. I've read the reports," Mitchell interrupted. He waved his spoon around. "Naquadria, right? He's the guy that worked SG1 after you died of radiation poisoning."

"Ascended," Vala corrected him.

Daniel and Teal'c quickly looked at her across the table while Mitchell turned and wrinkled his brow in her direction as he chewed.

She stared back unwaveringly and shrugged. "What? Daniel's not the only one who's always allowed to correct people."

"Right… Ascended," Mitchell said with a dubious look at her explanation, before taking another mouthful and turning his attention to Teal'c. "Decent guy?"

Teal'c slowly sipped his orange juice. "Indeed."

He nodded as he finished chewing and swallowed. "So… he's back. What's it been? Three, four years?" He dropped his spoon in his nearly empty bowl. "What do you think he's got that's so important?"

Daniel looked over at Teal'c who only stared back in mute reply.

Mitchell wiped his mouth with his napkin before continuing. "So he suddenly contacts the SGC with important information regarding the Ori. We send some guys over. There seems to be a bit of a scuffle back on Langera, he's compromised, and we lose five of our guys. Doesn't that look a little fishy to anyone?"

Vala's only response was a loud bite of her apple as she watched for the rest of their reactions with curiosity.

"Jonas Quinn would not intentionally put lives in danger," Teal'c spoke up in his defense.

"Okay, maybe not intentionally," Mitchell said agreeably, leaning back in his chair. "But I know from my own experience people can be set up. How do we know that this guy's source didn't pull the trigger on the whole deal?"

"We don't," Daniel grudgingly agreed.

"Right," Mitchell said pointing his finger. "So, is the intel even reliable? Assuming he wakes up in his right mind."

Daniel exchanged another unhappy glance with Teal'c.

"See? Just saying," Mitchell said, tucking his hands behind his head.

Then Mitchell's attention was suddenly distracted to a point behind Daniel's shoulder. He quickly straightened up in his chair as a grin spread across his face. "Ho! Hey, there's our girl!"

Daniel and Teal'c both turned around as Vala also perked up.

Colonel Samantha Carter was standing at the entrance to the cafeteria. Her crisp and clean Atlantis uniform broadcasting an air of authority that most who knew her at the SGC were unaccustomed to. She quickly contradicted it with the warm smile she bestowed on her friends. "Hey guys."

Daniel, Teal'c, and Mitchell all stood up. Daniel was closest and was able to give her a long hug first. Next she turned and hugged Teal'c's side in greeting, while Mitchell made his way around the table to also give her a hearty hug.

"Hey, Cam," she greeted with a laugh when he squeezed a little too hard.

"Hey there, stranger!" Mitchell greeted releasing her and stepping back. "How're things at SGPegasus?"

"Good, for the moment," she replied. Vala was the only one who remained at her spot. She gave Sam a happy wave, which Sam returned. "How are you guys? You look good."

Vala smiled, pleased with the compliment.

"We have missed you, Colonel Carter," Teal'c said sincerely.

"Me too," Sam admitted easily, looking up at the Jaffa.

Mitchell crossed his arms over his chest. "I hear congratulations are in order. Something about figuring out how to sick the Replicators on the Wraith?"

Sam raised her hands refusing to take credit. "It wasn't me. It was all Rodney. He found a way to hack into their system, as he usually does, and unlocked the code that had been keeping them on a leash with the Wraith."

"And you're back to debrief the IOA on the whole situation?" Daniel asked sticking his hands in his pockets.

She nodded making a face. "Not my favorite part of the job."

He smirked knowingly.

"How long will you be staying?" Vala asked, hoping she could convince her friend to schedule a quick shopping excursion. With the exception of Sgt Harriman, the rest of the members of the SGC's _Boys Club_ had no inclination to go shopping with her.

Sam looked around at her old team. "Well, I'm meeting with the IOA in a few hours and then I don't have to return to Atlantis until tomorrow evening. So if you want to hang out tomorrow morning, I'm free," she said, smiling at Vala.

Vala beamed and nodded excitedly in response.

She looked at Daniel, "General Landry told me you might be needing my help with something."

Daniel started as if suddenly alert. "Yes." He grabbed his book off the table and closed it, his appetite to finish lunch suddenly lost. "There's an artifact I want you to look at." He grabbed his tray and walked away to throw his garbage out.

Sam looked at the rest of the team and smiled apologetically realizing she may have asked that question too soon. Daniel was waiting for her at the doorway. She began to follow Daniel. "I'll see you guys around?"

Cameron nodded. "How about dinner when we get back from our mission. All five of us."

"Sounds like a plan," she said with a quick smile and a wave before following Daniel who had moved ahead of her and was now moving quickly down the corridor.

Vala didn't hide her disappointment as she watched her only female friend disappear from view. She looked at Teal'c unhappily. "Leave it to Daniel to snatch her away from us over some old artifact."

Teal'c only looked down on her in amusement.

Away from the commissary and down the corridor, Sam was just catching up with Daniel "So?" she began, slowing her jog to a quick walk to keep pace with him. "What's so special about this artifact?"

"I don't know. Something. That's why I need your help."

She smiled to herself before giving her long-time friend a side-glance. He caught her look and smiled back.

"So how does it feel being in charge?" he asked.

"Overwhelming," she admitted with a laugh.

"I'm sure. It's a lot of responsibility."

"I know. The last thing I expected after helping out was to be given command of the whole city." She almost smiled and looked over at him again. "It's more than weird to be telling you about Atlantis. I always thought the shoe would be on the other foot."

"Me in charge of Atlantis?" He offered jokingly.

"You know what I mean," she said with a smile.

He shrugged and half smiled at her in return. "I do." He tucked his book up to his chest as he walked. "It was a dream a long time ago, but I've accepted that Atlantis wasn't meant to be. Life had other plans."

She continued to watch him, her eyes smiling.

He noticed. "What?"

"Nothing," she said with a shake of her head.

He gave her a quick, narrowed glance, but she wasn't going to give up so easily.

"How's Rodney?" Daniel asked deciding to match her teasing gaze.

She quickly matched his smirk. "Fine."

"Is he getting under your skin?"

"Some, but less than expected."

"That's good," he said with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm trying to back off a little. Let him do his thing."

Daniel joked. "You're getting wise in your old age."

She looked back at him with a sparkle in her eye. "Yes, I am. Thanks for reminding me."

He shrugged his shoulders and smiled in matching amusement.

When they reached his office, he pulled the artifact's box off the shelf and laid it in front of Sam. She lifted the top off and studied it for a moment in its cell. Then she lifted it out and studied it for a few minutes without saying anything. He watched her, hoping against hope to catch some sort of recognition in her expression.

She finally looked at Daniel and gave him an apologetic smile. "There isn't much here. I can't see anything that gives me evidence as to what it might be. I don't see anything numeric in the writing. I can take it to my lab-" she paused, made a face, and corrected herself. "Dr. Lee's lab… and see what I can find out."

He scratched his neck, nodding. "I'd appreciate it. Not that I don't trust Dr. Lee, but you always have a knack for finding things…well…quicker… and with a lot less talk."

"I'll do my best," she said with sincerity. She turned the item over in her hand. "Is there anything in particular that I should be looking for?"

"The text on it wasn't actually visible until it received an electrical charge from a naquadah source," he replied staring at it.

"Really?" she said, frowning in interest and following his gaze. "And where did you find this?"

"An uninhabited planet on the outer rim of the galaxy. I found a stargate address in an old book of children's tales written in Ancient."

"Really?" she repeated, even more intrigued.

"Yeah. I haven't found the name of it yet, but the planet was clearly one of the home worlds of the Ancients in this galaxy. Actually I believe it was one of the first to be inhabited by the Ancients millions of years ago after they first left the Ori Galaxy."

"You didn't know it was there until recently?"

"No. I kind of fell on it and I haven't found anything else referencing it since. Since it matched up with the newer set of gate addresses we got when Jack downloaded his knowledge from the Ancient repository, we figured it was worth an exploration." He moved his glasses up his nose. "I was surprised the IOA let us go. They're not big supporters of space exploration much now, but I guess the possibility of a new Ancient site within our galaxy was worth the time and energy."

"Is it similar to Atlantis?"

"The architecture, yes. The scale of the major city we visited is considerably less in grandeur to that of Atlantis, though. It's located on a planet that is mostly terrestrial and the city seems more spread out, like a metropolis."

"And I'm assuming its technologies are similarly advanced?"

"As far as we can tell, but the city's power sources are depleted and we don't have an extra ZPM laying around to test its capabilities. The gate is located in what we believe to be a temple within the confines of one of the tallest structures in the city. The Ancient texts I collected from the site indicated that the Ancients were making plans for mass ascension."

"It doesn't say why?"

He shook his head. "The city itself seemed in good shape. There was no destruction of any kind to the architecture, just natural decay and weather erosion after thousands, millions of years of neglect. It's clear the Ancients ascended and did so quickly." He leaned on the table and directed his attention back to the artifact. "I found this among the remains of the gateroom. It shares no similarities with anything else we found in that location or in any of the nearby rooms. At the time it had no language written on it. So when Lee found the text, naturally I felt inclined to try and decipher it."

Sam placed the artifact back into the box and smiled knowingly, "And you haven't been able to."

He frowned to himself. "No." He straightened his stance. "Actually we're heading back there today with a couple of teams to see what else we can find. I'm hoping we'll come across something similar to this or we find some clues telling us what this artifact is."

"You think the text was invisible for a reason."

"Yeah, I do."

"I'll see what I can do," she said again. "But while you're back there make sure you take naquadah readings of the surrounding areas."

He nodded, but was immediately curious. "I was planning on it. Why? Is your 'spidey sense' tingling?"

She smiled. "In this galaxy naquadah is a highly regarded source of energy. The Ancients, however, generally didn't use it as a power source. It's certainly not something we use in the Pegasus Galaxy. With the exception of the Stargates and their DHDs, most of Ancient technology is run with ZPMs."

Daniel was quiet and thoughtful for a moment. "You think the artifact is connected to the gates?" he asked.

She shrugged. "It's possible. Either that or it may be part of a whole other something that's comparable in grand scale to the Stargate system." Seeing her friend's expression, she smiled sheepishly. "Just a thought."

"Yeah," he said, his mind racing with the implications of that possibility.

"Sorry," she said seeing his expression.

"No. It's good. I miss getting your perspective on things. You're usually right."

"Occasionally," she said, lightly accepting the accolade, sending her smile to the floor. She looked up reminded of something she had wanted to ask him when she returned.

"How's everybody doing?"

He shrugged. "Good."

"And Vala?"

She seemed to interrupt his stream of thought as his face took on an unexpected look of puzzlement and frustration. "Fine. The same. The usual," he finished, sounding tired.

She nodded her face full of concern. "She isn't too lonely?"

He shrugged. "A little. But she's been spending more time with Teal'c lately, so that's probably helped."

Sam looked relieved. "Good. I was worried. She and I had been spending a lot of time together before I was assigned to Atlantis. She seemed to be getting really comfortable with things here. And now that I'm gone-- well, sometimes being the only girl can be tough."

Daniel nodded in understanding, but was still surprised by Sam's inquiry. "She misses you, but she's been fine. She's spends most of her time around here in the office helping me research or driving me crazy."

Sam frowned. "Well that's not good."

He stacked a few of his papers into a pile. "You're telling me."

Her frown deepened in his direction. "No, I mean for her."

Her tone startled him. He looked up, feeling somewhat affronted.

Sam sighed, relaxing the harshness of her expression. "Daniel, you _choose_ to spend your time down here. She doesn't have that luxury. She's not exactly a civilian. She doesn't get to pick what to do in her free time like we do. She's stuck here. So because you're one of the few people who doesn't send her packing on sight, you bear the brunt of her attention." She paused giving him a knowing look, "I'm sure that her attention isn't always a bad thing."

Daniel stared at her for a minute, before visibly accepting her words. "No, it's not," he admitted. Vala _was_ good company. Her constant presence while he worked had become an expected part of his day. She didn't always bother him. In fact more often than not he forgot she was even there. He'd often turn around and be surprised to find her lying on his table with a word search and a highlighter in hand or quietly sitting on her knees in his desk chair playing solitaire or free cell on his computer. And while he complained only the night before about being unable to get work done while she was around, there had been moments during the day yesterday when her lack of presence had been distracting. It had taken every ounce of willpower he had not to worry about where she was.

He sighed, "Look, I'm working on it. I know I need to consider her needs more. Last night she reminded me of that too."

"She did? Good for her."

"Yeah," he replied, clearly not looking as if he agreed. "I gave her permission to make plans for us next week."

Sam perked up and grinned. "You did?"

He nodded slowly. "I did."

"Plans, huh?" Sam's eyes twinkled. "Is it another date?"

"No, it's not another date. Nor was it ever a date." He was not enjoying having to explain himself for the third time in under twelve hours. "She wanted to do something fun. Like she used to do with you. So I said okay." His lips pursed at her expression, before forcing a smile that was not as amused. "I'm being a good friend. That's all."

Sam tried to sober her smile. "Yes, you are."

He waited for her to say something else but she didn't. She simply watched him, amusement playing at her lips.

"Are you done teasing me now." He finally asked dryly.

"For the moment," she replied with a chuckle. Then she noted her watch. "You better get going. You're supposed to depart in less than a half an hour."

He looked briefly at his watch, surprised at how quickly the time went.

Seeing his regret, she smiled. "I'll make sure I'm still here when you get back."

"Thanks, Sam," he said.

"No problem. I've been missing this kind of stuff."

He gave her another smile before quickly jogging out of the room to get ready for his mission back to the planet.

She sighed, breathing in the smell of the SGC. Time to get to work. She picked up the box with the artifact and smiled. It was nice to be home, even if only for a day or two.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Daniel sat back on his heels and took off his glasses. He rubbed his eyes tiredly before taking his sleeve to his lenses. In the hours he had spent translating the Ancient glyphs off the temple walls, his glasses had accrued quite a bit of dust and dirt. Minutes later feeling fairly confident they were cleaned, he placed them back over his face and stood up.

He couldn't even begin to assess how long he had been working. He had started as soon as they had arrived through the stargate. Mitchell and Teal'c had left with SG4 and SG7 to explore the rest of the city leaving SG22 to monitor the gate while Daniel and Vala collected information from the temple room where the gate was located.

_Vala_…Daniel searched the room slowly with his eyes. He had sent her off to collect naquadah readings with one of Dr. Lee's instruments while he decoded the walls of Ancient writing. He had no idea how long ago he had asked her to do that and now she was nowhere to be seen. It explained why he had lost track of time. She was usually there to remind him that he was taking forever and that she was bored to pieces.

He tapped the radio on his chest. "Vala?"

He waited but there was no response. The only sound in the room was the quiet chatter of SG22 who had stationed themselves close to the gate. Three members of the team were playing poker on the floor while the remaining one took their turn standing guard at the gate entrance. An abandoned planet hardly required the kind of security many planets recently required. It was a nice break for the young team. They were currently waiting for the next radio transmission from the SGC. The young woman standing guard in blue BDUs noticed Daniel approaching.

Before he could inquire about Vala's whereabouts, she answered his question. "Vala told us to tell you that Dr. Lee's instruments didn't collect any new naquadah readings on this level except where we would expect it, near and around the stargate. She went to the upper levels to continue to collect readings."

He looked at his watch. "How long ago was that?"

"About three and a half hours."

"Have you kept in radio contact?"

"Yes, sir," the young woman said with a nod. "We last heard from her at the scheduled time just under twenty minutes ago. She's on level 42."

Daniel nodded and tucked his notebook into a pocket inside his BDU coat. "I just tried to radio her a few minutes ago, and I didn't hear back."

She looked concerned. "Do you want me to try again, Dr. Jackson?" She moved her hand towards her radio.

He put out his hand. "No. It's all right. I'll go see if I can find her."

She nodded. "Yes, sir."

He easily found the lifts, but they were no longer in working order with the power source for the city depleted, so he used the stairs. Climbing twelve floors gave him a much-needed workout after sitting on his heels for so long in the gateroom. While he needed a flashlight to lead him through the stairwells, the levels themselves were brightly lit. Long walls of windows ran down the hallways letting the daylight from the planet's binary system suns brighten the rooms.

It didn't take him long to find her. About a third of the way down level 42, he found her in the last room he would ever expect to find her. A library.

Walled in shelves of books, this brightly lit room had no furniture, just cheerfully colored rugs with circular patterns on the floor. Vala was sitting Indian style in the center of one faded blue circle, with a thinly binded book in her lap. Short stacks of books similar to the one she was looking through neighbored her on both sides. She looked like a little girl. Especially with her hair tied back in two sloppy buns.

She looked up, sensing him.

"Now why can't your books be this easy to read?" she commented. She lifted up the book she had been looking at for him to see the pages.

"You can read those?" he said in surprise, walking closer. "You can't read Ancient," he reminded her.

"No I can't," she agreed, "but I can read the pictures." She pointed at the colorful illustrations on the page in front of her. "See. She's a princess and there's this awful man made of fire who likes to torture her, I like to think it may be a sibling or uncle of some kind. And throughout the story she spends her days trying to find a place to hide where he'll never find her."

He dropped to his heels. "How do you know she's a princess?"

She shrugged. "I don't. Her dress is pretty, so I assumed. But look here." She flipped back a few pages, showing him the various illustrations. "She can never seem to find the right place. The closet, the gardens, he always seems to find her. I haven't finished it yet, but I predict she will find a location by which he will never discover her. Another planet maybe? And then she will live, how do they say it, happy ever after?"

"Happily," he corrected, gingerly taking the book out of her hands. "It's a picture book," he reveled to himself after flipping through a few more pages.

"The shelves are filled with them," she announced, patting the stack next to her. "Some with more text than others. I prefer the ones with only pictures."

Daniel looked around the room. "Why would they have a room full of picture books?" he wondered aloud.

Vala looked at him. "Because it's a children's library, silly."

He looked back at her startled.

"The whole floor is designed for children. The furniture is all much shorter and the rooms are very colorful with lots of pictures and very little Ancient glyphs. I was thinking maybe it was a school of some sort. Teaching Ancient children to read and write Ancient, I would assume."

Daniel's gaze turned back to the shelves of books and he quickly stood up. "A school," he said aloud, letting the concept sink in.

Vala followed his actions, brushing the dirt off her knees and shins, and leaving her piles behind. "Some of the levels beneath this one have similar traits. A room full of books, rooms with shortened consoles, tables, and chairs. Though this floor has had the shortest furniture by far…and the biggest collection of those picture books," she said nodding at the book still in his hand.

"Consoles? Like databases?" he looked at her curiously.

She nodded.

"Where are they?"

"Every room has some. Except for this one."

He exited the library and walked down the hall to the next room adjacent to it with Vala close behind. The furniture was indeed shorter and considering Vala's revelation, he could see how it might be a classroom. Various flat screens decorated the walls low to the ground. There were about ten or twelve tables set up around the room, each with its own console and a chair. They could easily have been student desks.

He sat down in one of the short chairs closest to him to determine if the console was working. Unfortunately, like the lifts and everything else, it wasn't.

His brain was on overdrive. The temple glyphs he had just spent the past four hours translating. The obscure gate address he found in a children's book of fairytales. All puzzle pieces to a picture he hadn't been able to visualize until now.

"What is it? Am I wrong?"

His gaze drifted up to Vala, his blue eyes locking with hers. It took him a minute to respond. "No. You're right. More than you even realize. It is a school."

"And?" She waited impatiently for him to elaborate. Clearly there had to be more than that eye-opener because she had already informed him of that.

"And…" he began slowly, "so is this whole building. And so is this whole city."

She frowned in reply. "You're saying this planet was a place for the Ancients' children?"

"Not just their children. Anyone who needed or wanted to be educated came here. Think of it as an educational center for Ancients in the galaxy, a university for students of all ages. Children and adults were sent here to be schooled in language, mathematics, the sciences…to be taught by the foremost experts in the galaxy."

"You know this simply by sitting in a shortened chair and seeing a children's library?"

"The text I translated in the temple makes the most sense in this context. Mostly it's written in parables showcasing the importance of obtaining knowledge and the role that wisdom plays in the succession of life. It reinforces the philosophies of academics and what this place was meant to represent."

He got up and walked out into the hall to stare out the window. The two suns had just passed midday and were shining their heavy rays on the rest of the city as far as their eyes could see. Mitchell, Teal'c, and the rest of the SG teams were out there somewhere hopefully finding similar things to prove his theory.

He shook his head in amazement. "This place is like a giant university. The top scientists, historians, mathematicians, and linguists in all of the galaxy lived here millions of years ago teaching young minds about the universe."

"All that genius in one place?" She shivered. "Sounds frightening."

He smiled at that. "Just imagine the new technologies and experimental sciences these people were involved in. It's likely all Ancient technology was born here in some form."

"Well, I'm happy for it. Just more happy that I wasn't around when it was happening. Intellectuals are creepy."

He looked at her.

"Well, of course, I don't include you and Sam in that general opinion, I just don't trust the brainy type generally. I'm always worried they have darker prospects. Like galactic domination or something else sinister "

"You need to stop watching 'Pinky and the Brain,' he said dryly turning his gaze back out to the cityscape.

"But I like Pinky and I worry about Brain's influence over him."

He ignored her and stared out.

"You must feel right at home," she said after a few moments of quiet.

The seriousness to her tone surprised him. He gave her a quick glance. "Surprisingly, I don't."

Her head lifted a little in curiosity.

He continued, "To be honest, I almost agree with you. This place does feel a little creepy," he admitted. "Though not because of what it stood for, but because of how it resulted. Why would all of these people ascend like they did? Why leave this inner sanctum of academics that had clearly been so successful? What were they running away from?"

Vala seemed to think about it for a moment. "Whatever they were running from must have been really frightening for them to ascend without simply choosing to utilize their advanced technologies as a defense."

He nodded, his blue eyes settling on her for a moment. He was about to say something more when his radio crackled to life. "Jackson? You there?"

Daniel held down his transmitter mic while Vala looked down at hers, realizing it wasn't broadcasting. "Yeah. What is it?"

"We found something." Vala fiddled with a few switches until Mitchell's voice sounded in hers too. She looked up at Daniel who was watching her. She smiled, mouthing she had accidentally turned it off. "There's something you're going to want to see."

"You want to elaborate?" Daniel asked into the radio.

"I'd rather keep you guessing. I'll give you our coordinates."

It took Vala and Daniel nearly an hour to reach the coordinates Mitchell had given. And if sitting in an old abandoned classroom had been creepy, it certainly didn't compare to an abandoned city. Vala had hovered at Daniel's shoulder nearly the entire way clutching her weapon.

Their destination took them to the exterior of a building that shared similar characteristics to the one they had just left, just not as tall. Outside, Teal'c was waiting for them.

"Where's SG4 and 7?" Daniel asked, walking up to his teammate with Vala in tow.

"Colonel Mitchell assigned SG4 and SG7 to the neighboring buildings."

Vala ripped off the wrapper at the top of one of her energy bars and took a bite. She hummed happily feeding her hunger, passing over an extra apple cinnamon to Teal'c who tucked it into his vest pocket. She offered a bite to Daniel who quickly shook his head.

"So," she began over a mouthful of granola. "What's the big secret?"

"We found remains," Teal'c replied simply, turning so that they would follow him up the entrance stairs.

"Remains? Like skeletal remains?" Daniel said in surprise as he followed him.

"I didn't think ascension left behind bones," Vala mumbled over her food.

"It doesn't. They don't. It's not possible."

"Colonel Mitchell agreed." Teal'c didn't explain further. He walked them up many flights of stairs until they stopped in an open doorway. The hallways and rooms were similar to what Vala had explored in the building that housed the gate, but less colorful.

"Middle adolescence. Like middle school or high school," Daniel observed, Vala's curiosity as she stopped to peek in the rooms as they walked by. Seeing Teal'c's attention to his comment, he explained further. "We think this city may have been an educational center for the Ancients and their children."

"Like a school," Vala explained more simply.

Teal'c only nodded thoughtfully in reply. He took them to a room at the end of the hall. Similar to the classroom Daniel and Vala had visited, it had desks, chairs, and consoles, only on the far side of the room there was an open door where Mitchell was waiting for them.

"Glad you could make it," Mitchell offered genially when he saw them.

"This is new," Vala commented upon seeing the door.

"We've seen rooms similar to this at the site of the temple. Only there were no additional connecting rooms," Daniel explained, following Mitchell into the darker room. Without walled windows, it was completely dark with the exception of the mounted lights that Mitchell and Teal'c had set up.

The room was large, larger than the classroom outside of it. At first he thought it might be a storage room, but on closer inspection it seemed designed to be an office. An elaborate table and console sat against a wall nearest the door with shelves of tattered books stationed above it. The opposite end of the room seemed more like a laboratory. Unidentifiable machines and various mechanical parts sat atop the lab counter waiting for a power source to activate them.

"Daniel Jackson believes this building and others may have once been used to educate the Ancients."

Mitchell shrugged. "Makes sense. This was probably the teacher's office."

Daniel squinted into the darkness. "So where are the remains?"

Mitchell looked over at Teal'c, his voice exasperated, "You had to go and spoil the surprise, didn't ya?"

Teal'c's expression did not change.

"Oh, yeah. I love surprises with dead people," Daniel joked mildly.

Mitchell shook his head at the Jaffa before waving a hand. "He's over here," he said.

Vala stood back by Teal'c while Daniel crouched down with Mitchell to inspect the bones on the floor behind the lab counter. The clothes the person had once worn were in tatters and had disintegrated far worse than any other fabric they had come across. The color of the clothing was not distinguishable nor was anything else about the remains beside the fact that it was human.

"Any theories?" Mitchell asked after a few minutes while Daniel searched through the remains.

Daniel looked up, sensing a new tone to his friend's voice. "No, but I'm guessing you might have one."

Mitchell grabbed a small book on the lab counter behind him. He tossed it to the archaeologist. "That look familiar?"

Daniel's heartbeat picked up as soon as he saw the familiar glyphs on the front cover. He looked up quickly. "Where did you find this?"

"In the pile of dust here," he pointed to the skeletal remains. He then moved around Daniel to open a closet on the other end of the room. "And we found this…" He opened the door.

The more Daniel's expressions changed from that of unease to distress, the heavier Vala's stomach sank. She stepped away from Teal'c, unable to hide the anxiety in her tone. "What is it?"

Daniel stepped closer to the closet. He gently wrapped his fingers around the skinny object and pulled it out. He looked over at her as her eyes fell on the staff weapon and widened.

She looked back at Daniel. Even in the dark she could see his eyes. "He was a Prior."


	5. Chapter 5

** Chapter 5**

"Hmm….who would have thought? The Ori have had their grubby little fingers in our galaxy all along," Vala stated staring pointedly across the briefing room table at Daniel. "What a shocking turn of events, hmm?"

"Yes, shocking," he replied just as sarcastically. He clearly didn't appreciate her rubbing in the fact that she had called this out to begin with. He gave her a quick look of irritation before looking back at the general who had his hands clasped together in front of him on the table.

"The information you have collected is alarming, Dr. Jackson. However, I can't help feeling some relief that we may have found what we've been looking for," General Landry commented, looking over at the prior staff weapon leaning against the wall nearby.

He looked up at his SG1 team who were sitting around his debriefing table. They hadn't been home for even an hour before meeting with the general to debrief while the other SG teams stayed on the planet and continued their exploration.

Sam had also joined them at the debriefing in order to share a bit of the information she had gathered on the artifact while they had been away.

"Have you figured out what the prior was doing there?" Sam asked from her side of the table.

Daniel sat forward in his chair. "Not yet. Dr. Lee is dating the skeletal remains now. Hopefully we will be able to determine if he was alive during the time period of the Ancients or if he arrived years later, after they ascended."

"And your guess?" Mitchell asked, his curious eyes focused on Daniel.

Daniel shrugged. "It's likely he survived before the ascension. I've only looked through his journals and texts briefly, but they indicate he was involved in numerous academic programs."

"So what you're telling me is that the Ori knew about our galaxy, before we thought they did," Mitchell said dryly, "and that they probably worked among the Ancients?"

"So it seems. But I would assume it was on some covert level."

"If the Ori were aware of our presence, why have they waited it until recently to erect supergates and dispatch a fleet of attack vessels?" Teal'c inquired. "Would they not have wanted to cause destruction to our galaxy, long ago?"

Sam spoke up. "The prior may have somehow accidentally accessed this planet's gate address from the Ori galaxy. Then, following his arrival, realized our stargates were unable to activate the eighth chevron needed to travel back and return home," Sam hypothesized. "He probably had no way to contact that Ori and tell them what he had discovered."

Daniel searched the pile of books he had brought with him. "I was looking through the Book of Origin we found in his desk." His hands finally caught hold of the small familiar book he was speaking of, and he opened it to a marked page. "Interestingly enough, all the notes in the margin, the circled and underlined words he focused on, regularly refer to something he's written down called 'UbanLacun'. The English translation is 'The City of the Lost,' a place where those who are 'blind to Origin' reside." His eyes searched the pages. "And later, he makes note of a key or 'clavia.' The key being responsible for keeping the city lost? I'm not quite sure about that yet." He pointed to the script near the edges of the main text. "Most of his annotations are focused here in this chapter. It is about a man named Oman who goes on a great quest to find a secret city so that he may 'open the eyes of the ignorant and help them see the fires of Celestis.' He leaves for the quest, but there is no point at which Oman ever returns. In fact the story, or the result of his quest, is never brought up again in the rest of the Book of Origin."

"Does this mean Oman was unsuccessful?" Teal'c asked.

Daniel looked up, his eyes big and thoughtful. "I don't know. Either way this prior believed he had found it. He believed this city was 'The City of the Lost.'

"And no doubt spent a good majority of his time trying to find a way to inform his Ori friends," Mitchell added.

"I'm not sure that there was any way he could," Sam countered.

Vala placed her elbows on the table and leaned her chin on her hands. "It was an advanced civilization. All those brilliant people on one planet? Who knows what kind of technological advancements the Ancients could have provided him."

"Well, if he did find a way to return to his galaxy, he certainly didn't find a way to get it working or we wouldn't have found his pile of bones lying in the back corner of that office," Mitchell said. "Or, as Teal'c said, this galaxy would have been under attack a long time ago."

"Maybe the Ancients found out about him," Vala suggested after a few moments.

Daniel nodded his head agreeably. "It's possible the Ancients realized the prior's intentions were to inform the Ori of his location. They may not have known the extent to which he attempted to contact them, but they may have learned enough to fear the worst," Daniel said quietly.

The room grew quiet. Hearing that the Ancients may have ascended following the discovery of an Ori prior, was unsettling. It gave them all reasonable worry about their chances against them. Could Earth survive against an armada of Ori ships, when a technologically advanced civilization had run at the first hint that they might have been found?

Landry finally broke the quiet. His voice was soft but firm. "Plan to return to P4X-587 with two teams to relieve SG4 and SG7 at 0700, tomorrow morning. There may still be something there that we can use to battle the Ori. Inform Dr. Lee of any equipment you may need," Landry directed, writing down notes for himself. "And Colonel Carter, if you would look over the staff weapon before you leave, I'd like to gather as much data on that object as possible."

"Yes, sir," she said with a nod. She looked over at Daniel. "Did you find any indication of new naquadah sources within the structure?"

Daniel looked over at Vala. She sat up a little, lifting her chin off her hands.

"In the gateroom near the DHD and the gate itself. And there was some activity in the room where we'd found the prior. I noticed it on our way out, but I was unable to locate it by the time we had to leave. I put SG4 and 7's tech people to work to figure it out while we're away."

Sam nodded looking pleased with Vala's initiative. Then she turned her attention back to Daniel. "While you were gone, I spent some time testing that artifact you gave me with different naquadah generators. For a long time I couldn't get the artifact to react the same way it had for Dr. Lee. Then I tried reversing the pulse that governs the frequency. And wouldn't you know, the text disappeared."

Daniel frowned. "Were you able to get the text to reappear again?"

"Yes, but I once again had to reverse the pulse back to it's original state. After I did that, it again caused the text to rise to the surface. Dr. Lee and I believe it may be a cloaking device of some kind, but that it only works when attached to a particular instrument or object with a nearby naquadah source. Unfortunately we don't know what that instrument is." She looked at Mitchell, "When you go back, you might want to spend some time in the gateroom where it was found. See if there's a port somewhere that it can attach to."

"Will do." A smile suddenly warmed Mitchell's face. "How's it feel to be back in the old swing of things?"

"Good." Sam smiled back. "It's nice to be tinkering again."

Landry gave Sam a fatherly smile. "Well, it's nice to have you back, Colonel Carter," he praised. "We miss your expertise."

"Thank you, sir," Sam said.

Vala noticed a visitor standing in the doorway who was unfamiliar to her. His face was thin and lined. Dark blonde hair stood up underneath white bandaging gauze that wrapped around his head. He obviously had come from the infirmary.

"Hello," she greeted curiously, interrupting their discussion.

The man smiled tentatively at her in return and then took a step inside the briefing room. He looked pointedly at the man in charge. "General Landry."

The general got to his feet, his face immediately evidenced with surprise and disapproval. "Mr. Quinn, what are you doing here? Dr. Lam informed me just an hour ago that you were just starting to stir, but that your head injury would be keeping you in her infirmary for a couple of days."

Jonas forced a smile. "I'm feeling much better, sir. Just a little sore."

"I don't think you understand, son. My medical staff does not take serious injuries like yours lightly. I am calling down to have them retrieve you." He stood up from his seat, ignoring the young man's attempt to protest and walked into his office where he could make the call.

Surprised that he had lost his preemptive attempt at conversation so quickly, Jonas managed to look embarrassed as he turned back to the table of once colleagues and strangers. Vala offered the open seat next to her for him to sit while he waited for medical personnel to arrive. He gladly took it, smiling despondently at the sea of concerned faces.

Sam spoke up first, taking on her motherly tone, "Jonas, you shouldn't have come down here. You're not well enough yet."

"It couldn't wait," he said, his tired smile directed at Sam. "I needed to talk to the general about what happened." He looked down at the table. "And apologize."

"That would be unnecessary. We do not believe you to be responsible for the loss of our SG team members, Jonas Quinn," Teal'c said.

"Don't beat yourself up," Sam added and then smiled sadly. "You look beat up enough already."

He tenderly touched his bandaged forehead. "Yeah, I bet."

Vala patted his shoulder consolingly. "We all have bad hair days. Mine particularly find me in the morning."

Jonas half smiled at that.

"Jonas, what happened?" Daniel finally asked as Landry returned to the room, looking less than happy that his top team was engaging him with questions.

Jonas looked warily at Landry, not wanting to anger the general further. "I'm assuming you all know Langera's under Ori occupation? It's almost been a year now." Seeing the choral of nods, he continued slowly. "When they first arrived, we all just thought it was another alien group posing as Gods like the Goa'uld. We thought we were ready for them. We learned pretty quickly that we weren't."

He stared out the window of the briefing room. His gaze was unfocused, as it seemed to reimagine the event in his mind. "Nearly five million Langerans died under the first Ori wave of infection. Another three million were lost in the second wave." He connected his gaze back to his audience. "It does a lot to morale when you lose nearly half of your world's population."

Sam nodded. "We nearly had the same problem here."

He smiled weakly at her encouragement. "My people quickly learned to follow the teachings of the Ori whether they believed or not, if only to survive. There were some of us who were a little more defiant. Because of my experience off planet, I was chosen to lead an underground, anti-Ori movement. We were the most successful making small hits on the places they least expected. Playing the part of devoted worshippers, it was difficult for them to locate our underground base of operations."

"Of course after a few successes, our heads got too big. Not the first time this has happened on my planet as you all know." He looked over at Daniel with an awkward smile.

Daniel forced a smile in return but dropped his gaze down to the table as he remembered his own experience on the planet. He had once been faced with the choice to exchange his life for the lives of millions of others on Kalowna. It hadn't been a difficult choice to make, but, unfortunately, it hadn't changed the minds of those that mattered most. It had taken many years of trial and persistence, mostly on Jonas's part, for the arrogance and stubbornness of his people to dim. It wasn't surprising to hear they hadn't completely forgotten their old ways.

Jonas dropped his head and studied his fingers. "Through intelligence we had learned that the Ori had set a shipyard in an isolated location on the edge of the Andari Mountains. There they worked repairs on their Ori attack vessels. We realized there would be no better opportunity to try to destroy at least four or five ships in one shot. So we set the stage. We made plans. Unfortunately, we never even had a chance to get them off the ground. Our base was discovered five days before the detonation was scheduled. They captured and killed nearly everyone involved."

"How did you manage to survive?" Sam asked just as Lam had arrived in the doorway with a wheelchair and a couple of orderlies.

"I've wondered about that myself," Jonas admitted, not seeing the doctor. "Actually, I met a man, my Ori guard while I was imprisoned. He was one of the people who had captured me when we had been discovered, but he treated me differently than other Ori soldiers. He followed orders, but was kinder about it. One evening, while everyone had gone to bed, I spoke to him. He'd been quiet at first. Distant, not wanting to get involved with me, but when I told him about the Goa'uld and how you guys had shown up to help, he seemed to open up more."

"Jonas, your chariot awaits," Caroline Lam interrupted, causing Jonas to startle slightly. "You can finish your story another time. You need to go back to the infirmary and rest."

He tensed, his eyes shifting almost in panic. "No wait. Let me at least finish this." He quickly turned his attention back to the table before she could argue. "My guard said they found our naquadria defense weapons. He told me they had found where we stored them. They're planning on adding naquadria to enhance the weapons on their ships."

The room was silent. Even Caroline had paused her advance on her patient.

"Have they specified which planets they are planning to attack?" Mitchell finally asked.

Jonas nodded tightly. "Along with some free Jaffa groups that have been discovered in recent weeks, Earth is at the top of the list."

Mitchell exchanged looks with Landry. "Do we have a timeline?"

"Within the week."

"The Ori soldier told you all this." Daniel said cautiously.

Jonas nodded.

"For what reason would an Ori soldier share this information?" Teal'c inquired looking down the table.

"He doesn't believe the priors are working in the interest of the Ori. He questions their tactics."

Vala sat up a little straighter. She gave Jonas an odd look.

Daniel tried not to let her reaction distract him. He frowned at the younger man. "So the Ori soldier is your source? The one you wanted us to extract and bring to the SGC?"

Jonas nodded again. "Yes. He helped me escape. In return he wanted to speak to you about all he knew about the priors."

"An Ori soldier wanted to speak to us." Mitchell repeated from across the table. His eyes were dubious.

"He used to be a commanding officer in the Ori army, but had lost rank within the last year due to some confrontation he had with a prior. When I met him he'd only been a prisoner guard for a few months. He said he was familiar with Earth and SG1. He said he wanted to help."

Vala's complexion suddenly paled and her eyes flickered anxiously moving to the other faces around the room. Only Daniel seemed to notice her troubled expression.

Sam spoke up. "What happened when you dialed the gate?" she asked.

Jonas shook his head guiltily. "Nothing. There were no signs we had been compromised. My source knew I didn't want to leave, that my intention was to stay with my people and continue to fight. The trip to the gate had been for him. He had nothing to gain from helping me escape and getting me to the gate, and then trying to get me caught again."

"A gate address, maybe?" Cam offered.

"We haven't heard anything from Langera. The Ori would have tried accessing our gate by now," Daniel said, still watching Vala.

"Everything had been in place, when the SG teams arrived. We activated the gate to return and the prior arrived. Chaos reigned. Ori soldiers burst into the gateroom, my people tried to fight them off so that the SG teams weren't taken out, but obviously it didn't—" Jonas paused, cringing visibly as a sudden rush of pain seemed to make itself known. He fought to keep it from overtaking him, but he lost the battle and soon dropped his head into his palm.

"Okay. That's enough. You're done for today," Carolyn announced waving her orderlies in.

Jonas didn't react as they gently lifted him out of the chair and seated him in the wheelchair. His head in his hands, he managed to continue, "General Landry, I know you don't know me and have no reason to trust what I say-"

"Son, your reputation precedes you. Your old team members here still think very highly of you and so do I."

"Thank you, sir, but…" Jonas lifted his head to look the general straight on. "If that guard is still alive I would like for us to create an opportunity to extract him as soon as I am well enough again."

"You can count on that being a long while from now," Carolyn commented matter-of-factly staring him down. She didn't see his health improving to the point where they could send him back to his planet anytime soon.

Jonas ignored her. "He's the reason I was able to grab Colonel Brautlaucht and pull him through the gate."

"I'm sorry, son. I'm not willing to put other teams at risk at the moment."

"Maybe if you sent a ship. I know they have cloaking abilities now-"

Landry just sternly shook his head.

Jonas got the picture. He quietly and unhappily conceded. "Yes, sir. I understand. I'm sorry-"

"Don't be. We're just happy you're alive. Get some rest." He looked up at his daughter. "Dr. Lam."

Carolyn nodded, moving aside so her orderly could wheel Jonas back to the infirmary. She followed without so much as another look or a word.

Once the team was alone again. They all stared at each other, none of them knowing where to start.

So Vala blurted out the one thought that been raging through her mind ever since Jonas had begun speaking about his capture. "I know who the source is." She looked at Daniel. He stared back at her expectantly. _Was this was why she had been behaving so strangely?_

"It's Tomin. Tomin is the source."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Tomin?" Mitchell said flatly.

She nodded.

He leaned forward onto the table. "The guy who found you after you got sucked into the Ori Galaxy?"

She nodded again.

"He's the source?"

She nodded once more.

"How do you figure that?"

She sat up and looked around the room. Everyone's eyes were wide with disbelief. Well everyone except Teal'c. Though he had a single brow raised in her direction.

"Well firstly, the source is an Ori soldier. And we know Tomin's a soldier."

"There are thousands if not millions of Ori soldiers," Mitchell said with raised brows. "You better have more than that."

"I do," she replied defensively. "Secondly, Tomin was a commanding officer-"

"There are plenty of commanding off-" Mitchell tried to argue but Vala quickly cut him off continuing her earlier statement.

"…who helped me escape. Maybe he lost his status as commanding officer and was demoted to prison guard as punishment for helping me escape the Ori ship?"

"Jonas said it was because he got into an argument with a prior," Daniel tried to argue.

"Maybe it was over letting me escape?" Vala suggested.

Everyone at the table exchanged glances.

Seeing that her explanations so far hadn't cemented it for them, she offered a third reason. "Thirdly, he made it clear to me the last time we spoke he was losing respect for the priors. He was questioning their intent. And it sounded like this soldier who protected Jonas shares the same opinion."

"And all of this makes you sure that they're same person?" Sam asked cautiously.

Vala looked across the table at her friend, starting to get excited. "Well, it was what Jonas said. He said his source didn't agree with the way the priors were running things. He didn't believe that the Priors were interpreting the word of the Ori accurately."

"That's not exactly what Jonas said," Daniel corrected slowly. "He said the guard didn't agree with the prior's tactics. That the priors aren't working in the interests of the Ori. He didn't say anything about the book of Origin or their interpretations."

"Well, it was implied."

"No. It just means he didn't agree with the priors."

Vala stared back at Daniel.

"We don't know that this person is Tomin," Daniel tried to say more gently.

"Agreed," Landry concurred with Daniel. "There may be similarities, but we have no proof that this soldier is who you think he is."

"Well, either way, we need to go rescue him," Vala informed the room rather stoutly. She knew it was Tomin and she wasn't about to leave him alone on that planet. Not when he clearly wanted to help. And not after he had saved her from the Ori. Who knew what awful atrocities they were doing to him right at this moment.

Landry raised his brows. "I'm sorry, but as I have already informed Mr. Quinn, that is not an option."

"But he knows what the Ori have planned. He could help protect us from the attack," she argued. She looked across the table at Daniel expectantly. Surely he couldn't argue against that. But he was quiet, his lips pressed together decidedly.

Landry shook his head. "We have no assurances that we can trust him."

"I know him. He is a kind man. He would never be purposely deceitful."

"Purposely is not the point," Landry said firmly. "Just because he may not have intended to get Jonas Quinn and our SG teams into trouble, doesn't mean he didn't inadvertently create the situation we had on that planet where six lives were lost. He could create the same trouble in the future."

"We could make sure that doesn't happen. It's not like we haven't rescued people before from similarly dire circumstances," Vala continued to argue in spite of the man's rank. She was the only one who would have dared. She still hadn't tied down proper etiquette with authoritative figures. "Besides, it could have been one of Jonas's people, couldn't it? He said they were there. Maybe there are defectors in his own camp?"

"Even more reason to stay out of there," Landry said standing up. "I will not knowingly send my people into the lion's den…again." His tone was endlessly patient, but made of steel clearly indicating that the conversation was over.

Daniel used his voice to halt the general before he dismissed them. "Sir?"

Landry paused and stared at the archaeologist.

"Could we at least send a M.A.L.P. back to see what's there?"

"That's already been done, Dr. Jackson. And unfortunately, all the video showed was what we already knew." The general said grimly. "If you'll excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, I now must go express my condolences to Commander Brautlaucht's family and the families of the other SGC members we've lost. You're all dismissed."

The room was silent following the general's departure. Of course, they were all curious to learn about the intel this Ori soldier may have had, but after the loss of life the SGC had already experienced and the current threat they were facing, it was easy to understand why the general didn't want to take the risk. At least that was the running belief among the four more senior members of SG1.

Vala on the other hand had the opposing view. And she made it very clear when she quietly stood up and refused to look at any of them as she headed towards the exit. She couldn't stay here and do nothing. No one knew how to help and neither were they willing. She would have to find her own way. She didn't see the knowing glances in Daniel's direction as she exited the room.

_Why hadn't they argued for her?_ She couldn't help but wonder forlornly to herself as she walked down the hallway towards her quarters. Why hadn't they argued for_him_? They knew what he had done for her. How he had saved her. Did they not realize what they were losing? They had someone in the Ori army who saw his religion as imperfect. While he may not yet realize that the Ori themselves were also quite imperfect and evil, Tomin was the closest thing they had to converting someone of the Ori faith to the opposing position. Daniel of all people should have recognized that?

"Vala, wait," he called jogging up behind her.

She stopped and turned around. She waited until he had stopped in front of her so he could see her expression. "We need to rescue him, Daniel."

Seeing the quiet steel in her eyes, he sighed unhappily. "Vala, it's too dangerous-"

"Oh, that's boloney," she snapped, interrupting him.

Daniel eyes widened at her language. His eyes narrowed. "Have you been hanging out with Jack, again?"

"What? No. Not since the New Year's shindig he had. Though I do read his blog occasionally," she commented distractedly. Then she shook her head to return to her original train of thought. She pointed at Daniel. "Going to an Ori occupied planet to rescue one man is hardly the most dangerous thing we've ever done."

He nodded agreeably. She wasn't wrong. "Okay."

"Well, then, what happened to our whole motto? We don't leave our people behind?!"

Daniel tipped his head and looked down at her. "He's not our people, Vala."

"What? What do you mean? He's people. He's my people. He's my_husband!_"

"Your husband is an Ori soldier. And more to the point, you only married him out of convenience."

"Well, yes, of course I did. But that doesn't mean that I don't love him and feel responsible for him."

Daniel's brows jumped up.

She saw it. "What?"

His dubious expression didn't change.

"What!" Vala said once again, unable to keep the irritation out of her tone.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "You love him," he stated dryly.

Vala crossed her arms and narrowed her stare. "Is it so difficult to believe that I am capable of loving someone?"

He rolled his eyes to the ceiling and sighed. "No. It's not. I just think that you misunderstand love in the context that I'm referring."

"I know perfectly well in what context you are referring."

Daniel stared at her. "You love him, as in you're _in love_ with him."

She hesitated. It was enough to light a small flame of satisfaction in his eyes. She scowled seeing it and pointed angrily at his smirk. "That's completely different."

"Is it?"

"Yes," she snapped. "Look just because you know what that feels like doesn't mean you have to rub it in my face."

His amusement immediately dissipated and an unhappy frown took its place. "I'm not." Seeing the fury in her expression, he gentled his voice and locked his eyes with hers. "Vala, I'm not trying to be hurtful. I just don't think you're in love with him."

Her expression quickly changed from anger to uncertainty at his expression "How would you know?" she said, her tone no longer defensive. She looked far more vulnerable than he could've ever imagined.

He managed an encouraging smile with raised brows. "Because I know you."

Her forehead crinkled in confusion at his words. She looked down, trying to fight the tumult of emotions within her. Why did he do that?! Those warm blue eyes. The tenderness in his voice. Did he have any idea the commotion those words had just caused?!

"I do love him." she insisted a few moments later, looking up at him again, trying to sound firm. "Or have affection for him at least. His kindness, his heart, his honesty… I could never find another person in the universe who loves so selflessly."

"Okay," he said soothingly. "I don't doubt that, but…?"

"There's no _but._"

He waited.

"Okay, there's a _but_," she finally admitted. She hesitated, searching for the right words. "Beyond the fact that he was brought up to believe that murdering innocent people for their lack of faith is acceptable, I suppose spending the rest of my life with him doesn't make sense."

"Why's that?"

Vala pressed her lips together. "We don't fit. I'm not good for him."

That sobered him. "Vala…"

Vala laughed shortly at the sincerity on his face. "You of all people know better than anyone. I steal. I lie. I use my body as a means of procuring...well, whatever it is I want in the moment. I don't think he would have the same appreciation for me as you do, knowing what I've done and that I still do some of those things."

"Vala, you don't do those things anymore. Well, not on a regular basis anyway. You've proven yourself to be a person of worth on more occasions than I can count."

She gave him a dark look. "Why, thank you, Daniel. That was quite fluffy and feel-good. I feel much better," she said sarcastically, patting him on the arm.

He made a face. "You know what I mean."

"I do," she said quickly forgiving him. "But you don't know Tomin like I do. He's sweet and loyal, naïve and innocent, and in spite of his beliefs and what he's done in the name of the Ori, he truly is a good person. I'm …not." She cut him off when his mouth opened to argue. "No, Daniel. Tomin and I are on completely opposite ends of the spectrum. I'm not right for him. I'm not the right person for him. And he isn't for me either. I understand that." She smiled sadly to herself before cocking her head and sharing the smile with Daniel. "But can't you simply love someone for who they are… and know you're not meant to be?"

He didn't know what to say. Her words hit home, but in a way he could have never expected or wanted.

She let her eyes wander the corridor a bit before letting them rest again on Daniel. "Besides, the grand scale of love doesn't play into my desire to rescue Tomin. He's responsible for helping me escape the Ori ship that tried to destroy that-that village that I don't remember the name of…but you weren't there. You were getting all prior-ized and they were going to take me back to Adria and…well, he stopped them. He helped me escape. He saw what the Priors were doing was wrong. I began to hope that I could help him see the truth." The fire in her blue eyes grew even more inflamed. "Don't you see, Daniel? This is a great opportunity. To convince someone who has worshipped the Ori all his life that they're not gods? It's our chance to really make an impact on this society without destroying the people in it."

He, more than anyone else, understood her passion and desire behind wanting to find a solution to their current situation, but he needed to be realistic for her. "We don't even know for sure that it's him."

Her eyes hardened. "_I know_, Daniel."

He held her gaze a few minutes before closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead tiredly. What else could he say? He knew he couldn't convince her otherwise.

"Fine," she said haughtily, returning to her pretentious flair, mostly out of frustration with Daniel's lack of helpfulness, "let's go to Jonas and ask for the name of his _mysterious_ source?"

Vala started to stalk away in the direction of the infirmary, but Daniel snagged her fingers, tightened them into his grip, and slowly pulled her back.

"Dr. Lam is not going to let anyone in there to see him tonight. And I'm sure she's already given him sedatives so that he gets some much needed sleep."

Vala glared up at him. "We need to do something. We can't just leave Tomin there to die."

"We go back to P4X-587," Daniel said, even though it was the last thing she wanted to hear. "My gut tells me that what we need to fight the Ori is there."

"A place where even the Ancients wouldn't even stay for fear of being overtaken," Vala said sourly. "I can't spend another day wandering around that abandoned planet with that Naquadah reader thingy."

"You won't."

She looked at him disbelievingly.

"You won't," he said more firmly, strengthening his stare and tightening his grip. "Trust me."

She looked even more dubious.

He read her expression and managed to look sheepish. "Okay, clearly that phrase has lost all merit."

Her severe expression wavered, but she was far from smiling.

"Just promise me you won't do anything foolish tonight."

She pressed her lips together.

"Vala," he said warningly.

"I'll be good," she said quickly. Now he looked even more doubtful. "I will," she tried to sound convincing.

She sighed unhappily when his expression didn't change. "Fine. I won't go near Jonas tonight."

"Good," he said, looking somewhat confident he could trust her.

It was hard for him, seeing her like this. Following orders was difficult for Vala. Particularly when the subject being debated was important to her. Seeing her so forlorn, it was hard not to be able to do more.

"Try to get some sleep," he said.

She frowned, her mind obviously elsewhere.

"Vala?"

She matched his gaze and sighed. "I'll put on the History Channel. I usually nod off after only a few minutes of those long-winded introductions. It's like listening to you talk about Ancient books at our briefings."

"Thanks," he said dryly.

She only shrugged.

He stared down at her, wishing that there were something he could do to ease her worry. He could understand her position. When the Goa'uld had captured Sha're, he often let anger and frustration take over. All he thought about was trying to save her. Following orders served only to feed his need to find her. While he knew Vala didn't share the same passion for Tomin as he had had for Sha're, she still felt the same sense of dissatisfaction and responsibility. Especially when she believed she knew where he was. Unfortunately, the current circumstances didn't promote a safe rescue for him or for her return assuming it was Tomin and she could find him. They had to find a better way.

It wasn't until a fellow employee walked around them and nodded in greeting that Daniel realized he still had Vala's fingers threaded with his own. He quickly let go. She didn't seem bothered. Her mind was too lost in worry. She didn't even say good night as she slowly turned away and started walking towards her quarters.

"Vala?" Daniel called.

She turned around, her dark blue eyes unexpectedly shining.

His words stuck in his throat. While he could admit that his relationship with her had advanced over the past six months to a friendship comparable to that of Sam or Jack or Teal'c, he wasn't used to seeing bare emotion from her. So much of the time they remained emotionally aloof from each other. He wasn't sure if it was out of self-preservation or fear, but to see her eyes fill with tears sent chills up his arms. It was all he could do to stay rooted in place. He wanted to comfort her, but knew that somehow by doing so, there might be other emotional implications he would have to deal with. So he stuck with what he had planned to say originally. "I'll try to convince Landry when we get back."

Her face closed, she simply nodded, oblivious to his inner unrest. She turned away again and without another word, walked around the corner disappearing from his sight.


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you for all the reviews everyone. I'm truly enjoying all of this. Being a first timer and all, I never would've expected all the kind words. So appreciative. Can't even begin to say :) Enjoy the next chapter.

**Chapter 7**

"Jackson? You in there?" Mitchell called from the other side of the door.

Daniel sat up quickly in his bed and squinted over at the clock on his bedside. Had he overslept? No. It was still pretty early. Loud knocking on his door continued despite the hour.

Finally, he opened the door, stopping Mitchell who had his fist raised for another bout of heavy pounding. "Morning there, sunshine," he greeted cheerfully pressing his hand against the door to hold it open.

Daniel palmed his face sleepily with his hand. His eyes were still blurry. "Morning."

Cam peeked around the body blocking the door. "Your girlfriend wouldn't happen to be hiding in there with you, would she?"

Daniel rubbed at the sleep in his eyes. He didn't bother reacting to the 'girlfriend' taunt. "No." Then he paused and settled a stare on his friend. "Why?"

"Sam went to her quarters to invite her off-base for breakfast. She wasn't there."

A feeling of unease alerted his still drowsy senses. "The mess?"

"Checked. And we checked just about everywhere else on base. She isn't anywhere."

"Did she go off base?"

"If she did, she got through without checking out." Before Daniel could inquire further, he continued. "Sam and Teal'c are looking at the feeds now. I thought I'd stop by and see if maybe you knew something we didn't."

Daniel sighed in frustration. "I talked to her last night. She said she wouldn't do anything foolish."

Cam smiled in a way that clearly said, _You believed her?_

_Yes!_ Daniel's pointed glare shouted back. With another frustrated sigh at his own gullibility, he turned around to get dressed.

"You know where to find us," Cam said, closing the door behind the archaeologist.

Sam and Teal'c were each sitting in front of a few video screens forwarding through the recorded feeds of the base. Cam had his arms crossed over his chest and was watching over Sam's shoulder. He looked up when Daniel walked in.

"We found her," he announced. Then he made a face. "Sort of."

"She never went back to her quarters after she left our debriefing," Sam explained, still keeping her eyes on the feed in front of her.

Daniel stopped behind Sam following her gaze. "Where did she go?"

"She spent most of the night in your office," Sam replied, looking up at him briefly.

"Doing what?" He sounded cool, but on the inside he was less than calm. Irritation at her blatant dismissal of their talk last night fueled rising anger.

"Apparently she had some research to do before she decided to pull her disappearing act," Mitchell replied watching from behind them.

"Do we know what she was looking for?" Daniel asked squinting at the screen. Sam had paused it so he could see the blurry image of Vala sitting behind his desk working on his computer.

"No," she replied, dragging her eyes away from the screen for a moment, "but I can tell you she spent hours in here researching something that I can only assume she believed to be important. If we follow the timeline of what she did after leaving your office-"

Teal'c spoke up from his console. "I believe she may have been searching for a way to use the Sodan cloaking devices safely."

"What?" Daniel immediately snapped his head up.

"I have found her in the weapons armory," Teal'c said eyeing his screen. "At 0400 she took three Sodan cloaking devices."

"Why would she need those?" Mitchell asked suspiciously.

Daniel felt his stomach sink. "To sneak off world."

"She's done it before," Sam said with a knowing glance.

"Wait. That wasn't real," Cam argued. "It was a fabricated memory we created so she could trap Adria. Those devices are too dangerous to actually use. That multi-dimensional bug would get out and mutate or the radiation-"

"But if Teal'c's right and she found a way to use it safely, she could use it to go off world and rescue Tomin," Sam said. She looked at Daniel. His face had tightened at her revelation.

He agreed with a stiff nod of his head. "She was convinced Tomin was the one who helped Jonas." He turned his focus back on Teal'c, not wanting Sam to see too much of what he was feeling. "Where did she go from there?"

"I am unable to continue my search for her. She activated one of the devices before exiting the room."

Cam turned to one of the gate technicians who had been working while they searched through the feeds. "Did you send anyone off world this morning?"

The man turned in his chair and replied quickly with a nod. "At 0530, SG10 left for Q49-253."

Cam looked at the rest of the team. "So she had an hour and a half before she left through the stargate this morning. What did she do in between? And why did she need three cloaking devices?" Cam added.

"If Vala MalDoran is indeed planning to rescue the Ori soldier, she would need such a device to conceal herself while trying to rescue him from the Ori. He would need one for the escape."

"But three?" Daniel asked again, but upon seeing who was entering the room, he realized he had just received his answer.

"Colonel Mitchell," a feminine voice piped up from behind him. Carolyn Lam was standing in the doorway looking extremely unhappy.

"Let me guess," Mitchell interrupted, Daniel's understanding dawning in his own eyes. He turned around slowly. When his eyes locked onto hers, he smiled darkly. "You're missing a patient."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"I don't see why you couldn't just tell me how to get there. You hardly seem in the best health to be doing something like this."

"I'm fine," Jonas whispered back, forging ahead. He didn't look fine. In fact, he looked a mess. Thankfully, with the cloaking devices, she was the only who could see him.

She had regretted the decision to take him along the minute she had gotten her first good look at him in the infirmary. Seeing his bruised and broken body and face, she had known immediately her first intention to work as a pair would have to change. He hadn't looked fit to walk much less participate in active rescuing. While not part of the original plan, she had accepted taking on the rescue attempt by herself. She planned only to wake him to collect information that would be helpful for her to navigate his planet and his people and ultimately to find Tomin.

Unfortunately, when he awoke, Jonas had not been so willing to share information. He wanted to go back home. He wanted to help. He wanted to right what he felt he had done wrong. She couldn't completely blame him. She could understand. She had spent her last year trying to make things right with the SGC. Sometimes she thought she had. Other times, she wondered.

It hadn't taken her long to be convinced. Within moments, he had armed himself with the Sodan cloaking device she'd rigged even though she made it clear there were no promises her safety modifications had been successful. He had quickly dressed and followed her to the gateroom where SG10 was waiting to depart. He was surprisingly balanced and unaffected by his injuries, as they had traveled through the gate to whatever planet it was that the SG team had been scheduled to visit. As soon as the team had cleared a good distance, he had taken the initiation to reactivate the gate and take them to Langera. Even coming through the gate he had been pretty good on his feet trying to stay in stealth mode. Thankfully, the gateroom had been empty when they arrived. There hadn't been soldiers waiting for them to test how able he would be to handle this mission.

Vala was currently following him down a dark corridor of open and empty jail cells. They were five levels under the city in what Jonas identified as an abandoned Kelownan maximum-security prison. The Ori were using the south end to house those involved in the underground movement. The prisoners were scheduled to be publicly burned in the fire altar to remind their followers of what happened to unbelievers. It was where Jonas had been held after his capture. He believed either Tomin had resumed his duties as a guard there or was imprisoned there like he had once been.

_Well, who she believed was Tomin_, she thought to herself. Jonas had admitted to not actually knowing his name, which gave Vala only a slight niggle of doubt about her plan.

"So how long have you been with SG1?" Jonas asked as they walked.

Her eyes detoured into the dungeon-like cells_. This was supposed to be an advanced civilization?_ She shuddered. Then realizing that Jonas was waiting for a reply, she tried to focus her thoughts back on him. "A year or two, give or take."

"Give or take?"

"I don't exactly fit the SGC cookie-cutter-member shape."

"Somehow I kind of figured. I've been there. Is it because you're an alien?"

"Partially," she admitted, surprised he'd noticed. "But I think it's mostly because the first time I came in contact with them, I stole one of their ships."

He stopped and looked at her in shock. "Seriously?"

She nodded. "And then I forced my company on them with some bracelets that wouldn't allow Daniel and I to be separated without both of us dying."

He managed a quiet chuckle at that and started them walking again. "Apparently putting Dr. Jackson in some kind of danger is a rite of passage to become a member of SG1."

"Have you had a similar experience? Oh, yes, you were responsible for Daniel to have to ascend the first time." She stated matter of factly without a single ounce of judgment in her tone.

"Uh, I wouldn't say responsible…" he said suddenly sounding somewhat conflicted.

"I wouldn't worry. You're hardly the first. And I'm sure you won't be the last. He has a penchant for dying, ascending, and then coming back."

"Uh, okay," was all he could say to that. "So I'm assuming things have changed? You aren't forcing yourself on the team? You all seem to get along pretty well."

"Well, I sacrificed myself to destroy the first Ori beachhead, which was helpful to them, so I imagine they kind of felt a little obligated to keep me when I returned from my nine-month stay in the Ori galaxy. I've become their Ori inside perspective. I suppose that's what happens when you give birth to the enemy's spiritual leader."

"The Orici. She's your daughter?"

Vala perked up a little. "Have you met her?"

"No, I haven't met her, but I've heard quite a bit about her. The priors, a few months back, were preparing for her arrival, but she never came. Then it was all kind of dropped."

Vala nodded as she walked, a little less bounce in her step. "It's probably because she ascended. Either she's some glowing bit floating around on an ascended plane of existence exacting her wrath on lesser beings, or she's enjoying some fruity cocktail drink watching us like were one of those reality shows on television. I prefer to think the latter."

"She's ascended?" Jonas said slowly. "Why does that not have a nice ring to it?"

"Maybe because the Ori have caused a lot of havoc being ascended."

"Yeah, that's probably it."

She nodded again.

"Who's the father, if I'm allowed to ask?"

She shrugged. "Immaculate conception. Though I think Daniel was a little upset when he realized it wasn't his."

He probably should've focused on the fact that there was no father, but he didn't. "Daniel. As in Dr. Jackson?"

She shrugged again.

"I didn't realize you two-"

"Oh, we're not. It's that whole thing Sam and Jack started. We can't because we 'work' together." She made quotes signs in the air with her fingers. "Though I think Daniel might be having a hard time with the whole thing. He's been much more snippy lately."

Jonas studied her a minute with a small smile, looking mildly impressed. She didn't understand it, but somehow most people were shocked to think that Daniel would have a romantic affection for her. Most felt her personality quite often contradicted his, which it did. But didn't that support the whole 'opposites attract' theory she often saw represented on American television shows?

She noticed him stiffen when they reached the southern end of the prison. She quickly realized they would be entering the halls with prisoners soon.

She grabbed him when at that moment an Ori soldier walked by the end of the corridor only 20 feet in front of them. Jonas immediately froze in her grasp waiting until the soldier's footsteps lessened as he furthered the distance between them.

"Let's go that way," Vala suggested, pointing in the direction the soldier had come from. The corridors were skinny and it would be difficult to walk by a soldier without being noticed. They certainly didn't want to greet the one that had just walked by.

"Good idea," Jonas agreed, immediately heading in the direction opposite the soldier. They moved softly and silently, knowing the cloaking device would not hide their voices or the sounds they made.

Almost immediately they came upon prisoners and Vala couldn't hide her horror. She couldn't remember the Ori followers ever being so neglectful or cruel in their imprisonment of slaves or punishment of unbelievers. Maybe she had been spoiled. Being mother to the Orici, her imprisonment had meant confinement in well-furnished and relatively warm living quarters. These cells, however, were cold, damp, and without furniture of any kind. Here, shackled wrists hung above the heads of prisoners who lay slumped on the floors of their cells. None of them reacted to their visitors because of Vala and Jonas's cloaking devices, but she wondered if they would have even been noticed even without the devices. They looked so lost in their own misery, Vala wouldn't be surprised if some of the imprisoned men she passed as she followed Jonas were already dead.

She could only imagine that Jonas felt the same as she followed him down the corridor. His back stiff with tension, he constantly trained his eyes between the cell bars on either side to search for a familiar face. Mostly of the time he seemed to find no one of interest and quickly moved on to the next cell. Only occasionally did they pause at a few cell doors, as his face took on an expression of sadness and frustration. Vala could only imagine. She felt the same worry and responsibility as she thought about Tomin.

After a while, the corridors looked the same, the prisoners the same, and she was beginning to wonder if they were only going in circles when Jonas stopped abruptly, causing her to nearly plow into him. She was about to comment when his attention to their right quickly silenced her. He moved hands to the bars and narrowed his gaze into the cell. Hidden in shadows, the huddled figure in the back hardly seemed any different from the others. But Vala could tell by Jonas's reaction, this prisoner was different.

Just as she was about to lean in and get a closer look for herself, Jonas quickly fell back and looked at her. His eyes matched hers and nodded. "It's him," he mouthed.

Anticipation raced through her suddenly at a fevered pitch. She quickly grabbed the bars and eagerly tried to peer into the dark cell, but could hardly see anything. In the corner, the man's dark form could barely be made out. She looked up at Jonas, ready to question him quietly about how he could possibly know it was his Ori guard. But Jonas, instead, was already moving down the corridor, away from the cells and clearly looking for something or someone else.

Vala throwing one last quick glance in the direction of the man who might be Tomin, quickly jogged after Jonas. At the end of the hall, he waited long enough for her to catch up. Sensing her behind him, he moved ahead as if expecting her to follow. She did and they paused at the end of the corridor. She immediately saw why. To the left down another long hallway, there was an open room at the end. Far brighter than any other hallway or room they had encountered, it was easy to see two men silently eating a meal at a wooden bench and table, while another stood guard blocking the door. Vala knew immediately without looking at Jonas, that this was the way he intended for them to get the keys to the cells. Each guard kept a set of keys either in their grasp or on the wall. She could see it from where she stood. It was attached to a nail just above the heads of the two soldiers who were eating dinner. It was less likely that they would be able to snatch the keys from the guard's hands without bringing attention to themselves. They would have to find a way around the guard and snag the keys off the wall without being noticed.

Recognizing Jonas's current health status hardly made him as agile as her, she quickly moved before Jonas could. She ignored his hiss behind her as she headed towards the door. The guard had left barely enough room for her to duck underneath where he had his weapon blocking the door. In stealth movement she had mastered so well in her exploits over the years, she managed to maneuver herself around the guard's legs without so much as brushing him with the hairs on her arm.

If he felt a breeze of air at her pass, the soldier didn't react. His eyes were trained on the other door. She realized, she hadn't seen from her original vantage point, another two guards posted. Great. Five guards. That upped the ante a little. Her eyes quickly scanned the room. Unfortunately the only keys she would be able to attain were the ones hanging above the heads of the men consuming their food. Everyone else either didn't have keys she could see, or they were clutched firmly in their hands.

She weighed her options. The keys hanging above the men eating were the most accessible. She could wait around and hope that they finished eating soon, but she wasn't patient enough for that. She could noiselessly climb on the table, grab the keys, and hop off hoping she could make a run for it. Right. The likelihood of even getting on that rickety table without being noticed was as likely as Daniel burning his library of books. Now she might be able to press herself behind the table and without gaining notice. Then she could leverage herself against the bench to reach up and grab the keys. It would be a tight squeeze, but right now it was the only plausible option.

She bit her lip and took a quiet breath. Moving silently across the room, she prayed for noisy eaters as she moved in closer to the hungry soldiers. Like typical Ori soldiers, they were the quiet type and had little to say to one another much to her annoyance. _They could at least chat about their day or their exploits_, she thought to herself as she tried to pretzel herself around the soldier closest to her to get behind his chair. With a tiny little hop she managed okay without so much as a twitch from the man inches away from her.

Just then she looked across the room to find the corridor where she had left Jonas alone, completely empty. The sight of the suddenly missing Jonas made her stomach flip flop. Where was he? Was he hurt? Had he been found? Or worse had he compromised her? He wouldn't do that, would he? But she knew she couldn't concern herself with that now. Her focus needed to be on the keys. She looked up. They were right above her. She stretched her arm above her head and hoped for a miracle. The metal barely touched her fingertips. It wasn't enough. She needed to be taller.

She delicately placed the ball of her foot on the edge of the bench the soldier was sitting on and tried to push herself up higher to reach. But she misjudged her own strength and the height of the bench. In her quick attempt to reach the keys, her hand crashed into the metallic ring. The metal jangled noisily and fell off the hook in a loud crash on the table where the two men were eating on. It sounded like an explosion in the quiet room.

Each froze and looked at the ring of keys and then at her. She froze from her position squeezed in behind the table. Hopefully they were still looking right through her. Hopefully she was still as invisible as she had been only moments before. _Please don't let them see me, or hear me,_ she thought intensely, her whole body frozen in panic. Maybe if she worked at it hard enough she could influence their minds telepathically. Okay, probably not.

However, only moments later a loud banging sound came from outside in the corridor, followed by the sounds of irritated voices and yelling. The soldiers quickly looked at each other in confusion. The two men at the table dropped their forks, their gazes immediately dragged away from her. They got up and quickly followed the guard closest to the door out into the corridor as the volume of voices from the cells increased.

The men at the opposite side of the room who had been guarding the other door, looked at each other before one of them moved to position himself at the door that had just been abandoned. He had no way of knowing that behind him a bench would magically float off the ground and come crashing into his skull. He was out in one shot. The other soldier had been a little more prepared seeing his fellow soldier get knocked out by a floating bench, but ultimately after a few hits from an invisible foe, he came to the same fate.

Vala quickly grabbed the keys off the table. She had no idea if she had hit them hard enough to keep them out for a while, but it really didn't matter with the racket she was hearing in the direction she had arrived. It was likely more soldiers would be on the way to deal with whatever crisis had arisen in the corridor.

She hopped over the cold-cocked Ori soldier and nearly ran into Jonas who suddenly reappeared.

He saw the men on the ground first. Then he saw the keys. "Good job," he commented.

Vala waved at the noise behind him, suddenly realizing he had disappeared to create the distraction. "You too?"

He barely acknowledged her observation, quickly grabbing her arm. "We've lost our advantage. We need to go."

"But Tomin-" she began to argue suddenly frantic that he'd changed his mind.

"We'll grab him on the way out. Come on."

She had no idea how Jonas managed to move as quickly as he did with his injuries, but she barely managed to keep up before he shoved her back up against the corridor wall and pressed himself up tightly against it next to her. The Ori soldier she had slithered around had returned and was running down the hall in their direction. She followed Jonas's lead and pressed herself against the wall as tightly as she could, hoping the soldier wouldn't brush her on his way by. He did, but he was moving so quickly he didn't seem to notice and disappeared around the corner.

Jonas was quick to yank her away from the wall again and soon they were both running in the opposite direction the soldier had just gone. She had no idea where they even were, but for reasons she couldn't quite understand, she in that moment, she fully and completely trusted Jonas.

And he proved that trust to not be misplaced, because under a minute later they were standing back in front of the bars of another dark cell, and Jonas had quickly taken the keys from her and was opening the door. He pushed it open gestured her inside, "Go get him. I have a couple people I need to take care of."

Before she could argue, he had taken the keys and was running off in the direction where all the noisy cellmates were housed.

Suddenly alone in the cell of a man she had imagined to be Tomin, sent a tingle of fear up her back. _What if it wasn't him?_ Vala ignored her fear and hurried over to the man slumped in the corner of the awful cell.

"Tomin," she called softly.

He didn't respond right away. He didn't even react to the noise.

She moved to brush the greasy and damp hair away from his face. Even in the darkness she could see that he was bloody and bruised.

"Tomin," she called again, louder this time. She pressed her hands to his forehead and cheek. He was hot, feverish. He stirred only slightly under her touch.

"Tomin, wake up," she ordered him, the urgency of their situation suddenly making itself more known as the noise from the prisoners increased. Two soldiers ran by. Too distracted by the noise, they hadn't noticed the open cell door.

The man beneath her moaned quietly, his eyelids fluttering for a moment before falling closed.

"Tomin, you are going to use every ounce of strength you have to stand up and let me get you out of here." She took his inactivity to attach the Sodan cloaking device to his arm and pressed the button to activate the cloak. A blue flash of energy encompassed him. She knew the cloak was active and that he couldn't be seen by anyone else but her and Jonas, but it wouldn't matter if she couldn't get him to walk out on his own.

She shook him, trying to wake him. She knew she wasn't strong enough to carry him out by herself. She needed him to try.

She called his name forcefully now, knowing that her volume was being drowned out by the noises in the other cells. The soldiers wouldn't hear her. "Tomin!" she yelled once more and finally his bright blue eyes fluttered open. Confusion and pain reigned correspondingly in his gaze as he stared back at her blankly for a moment.

"You need to get up. I came to get you away from this place," she said more gently.

His eyes reflected on hers, and for endless moments he seemed to fight the cobwebs that kept him from recognition. Then suddenly, as quickly as they had muddled, his eyes cleared and brightened seeming to soak in her face. "Vala," he mumbled between broken lips.

Vala didn't give him a chance to consider her further. She had the opening she needed. "Come on." She had him on his feet no less than a minute later leaning heavily on her shoulders as she helped him out of his cell.

The hall was relatively clear, no doubt because of all the ruckus Jonas had created in other sections of the prison. She paused, unsure of which direction to take. This place was a maze to her. She had only followed Jonas, trusting him to take her where she needed to be. Now she had no idea where to go.

Tomin, as if sensing the reason behind her current anxiety, lifted his head and looked in the direction of the noise. "There," he managed to say, his voice barely audible in the noisy corridor. Not really in a position to argue, she quickly heeded his advice and started guiding them in the direction of the noise, praying to whatever higher being that was listening that there would be no soldiers along their path.

She hadn't needed to worry, because just as they reached the end of the hall they ran into Jonas who had been on the way back to get her. He skidded to a halt at the sight of Vala and Tomin. He didn't bother to get reacquainted with their new company. He quickly turned on his heel, placed his shoulder under Tomin's other arm, and started to guide them away.

Tomin's head hung and he barely managed a few steps as they tried to hurry him down the maze of corridors. After about ten minutes Jonas finally seemed to be moving them in a direction where the noise had lessened and the corridors were beginning to look more like the ones they had first explored upon arriving.

"Where did you go?" Vala finally whispered after some time. Tomin's weight was beginning to have an effect, but she wasn't going to complain.

"I released some of the prisoners."

"What!" she whispered loudly. "That was not a part of our mission."

"It was for me," Jonas said firmly.

"But I didn't bring cloaking devices for them. How are they going to-"

"They've been working for an underground organization for over a year. They're pretty adept at being inconspicuous."

"Jonas, you were compromised before. How do you know that it won't happen again--"

"They wouldn't do that. Not on purpose," he explained. Seeing her expression, he stopped to look at her fully. They were back in the long underground corridor that would lead them back to the gate. "I can't even tell you how many people I've seen incinerated in their fires. No one deserves that. I can't in good conscious leave them here knowing that that is their fate."

Vala was quiet. She knew she was hardly in a position to judge. She had invited this mess. She would have to deal with it. Jonas had every right to try and save his friends. Just like she had every right to come and rescue Tomin.

Jonas followed her gaze, which had fallen on Tomin. "How is he?" Jonas's voice had gentled.

Vala forced a smile. "I have no idea of the extent of his injuries, but they're not good."

Jonas lifted Tomin's arm to settle in a different position on his shoulders. "Well, then we better get moving."

Vala followed suit and then they were moving again.

Vala lost track of time as they walked. It seemed like the never-ending tunnel and Tomin was getting heavier and heavier. Yet even as she wished for the end of the corridor to get closer, an underlying uneasiness settled in the pit of her stomach.

Jonas picked up the pace, as he clearly seemed to think that they were getting closer. Vala could barely keep up and wasn't nearly holding Tomin's weight like she had been. As they reached the corner, Jonas lifted Tomin off her completely, forcing the Ori soldier to bare some of his own weight as he broke into a shuffled jog towards the gate room.

"Dial the gate," he called upon entering the room. He was heading towards the ramp.

He held Tomin at the bottom of the ramp while Vala rushed to the DHD immediately starting the dialing sequence. Sounds of the gate spinning and locking filled the eerily empty room. Moments later the unstable vortex of the wormhole rushed out into the ramp in a whoosh and then returned into its placid blue surface. Seeing Jonas start at the bottom of the ramp, Vala hollered across the room. "Wait, I need to get a confirmation from the SGC." She quickly punched in her IDC code into the GDO and hoped beyond all miracles Landry wouldn't be so insanely furious as to not let them come back.

Just then, staff weapon blasts erupted in the room. Jonas quickly yanked Tomin under the floor of the gate ramp, while Vala jumped behind the DHD. Nearly ten Ori soldiers were standing at the room's exits firing their staff weapons. Most of their fire was aimed at the gate, as they could not see who had activated it.

She looked over at Jonas, who looked more angry than exasperated. He was returning fire with his own weapon and trying to cover Tomin who was leaning against the ramp behind him. Tomin's eyes were closed and he hardly looked like he was going to be of any help.

"Vala!" Her transmitter crackled to life.

She immediately grabbed it. "Sam!"

"What the hell is going on? We're taking fire over here."

"We've got Tomin. But we can't get to the gate. The Ori soldiers can't see us, but they know we're here so they are pointing their weapons at the ramp thinking we'll want to escape through it eventually," she finished firing off a few zat blasts at a couple soldiers who had tried to shorten the distance between them. Okay, bad idea. While she had taken out the two closest to her, she had informed the ones behind her of her position.

"Vala," a new voice said.

"Daniel?"

"Landry's going to close the iris. We're taking too much damage."

A weapons blast ricocheted off the DHD just above her ear. She shuddered at its proximity, before quickly moving out to take out the guy that tried to hit her, with a zat to the chest. She hit her transmitter again. "Daniel, convince him to wait. We're on our way now!" she lied. There were more soldiers in the room than there had been before. They were filling up the back of the room. From her position behind the DHD she let a few more zats rip. Jonas was holding his own, but they wouldn't be able to hold position much longer. However, a suicide attempt towards the gate wasn't exactly what she had in mind.

Just then a new sound erupted from behind the soldiers. It was a loud sound, almost like an explosion. It must have worked like an explosion too because a whole group of soldiers went down with it. She looked over at Jonas who looked just as surprised as the Ori soldiers.

The soldiers suddenly had to change the direction of their firepower as they were now taking on attackers from behind. The blasts, from what Vala could see, were a green sort of zat, but seemed to pack more punch as one hit seemed to elevate the enemy off the ground, throwing them a good distance from where they began.

"They're Naquadria powered zat weapons," Jonas called in explanation.

She simply nodded, still firing on the enemy. His underground friends must have been behind this. How thankful was she that Jonas had released so many of his comrades while they had been in that prison.

While the soldiers weren't completely distracted, Vala realized fairly quickly, that now seemed to be the best opportunity to escape through the gate. Seeing Jonas's look, he seemed to agree.

She waved at him. "Go, I'll cover you."

Jonas shook his head. Leaving the other SG teams behind was having its affect. He looked clearly immobile in his stand to not leave her behind.

Vala could be just as stubborn. "Don't argue! I can't carry him to the gate."

He looked down at Tomin who had fallen into unconsciousness. And looked back up, he was still unconvinced but his stoicism was wavering.

"We did not come back here so that he could be taken again. You've got to go. I'll be right behind you."

"Vala," Daniel's voice had an edge to it as it sounded over her radio again.

"We're coming! Don't let him close the iris, Daniel… Jonas, go!"

She jumped out from behind the DHD and directed her full firing force on the soldiers, taking out several in only a few shots. Jonas realized the time to argue with her had been completely lost, as any distractions now would lead to an unwanted conclusion. He lifted up Tomin's heavy form and headed towards the ramp. Vala took out a couple more soldiers as Jonas hauled Tomin up the ramp. Vala was close on his heels. She wasn't exaggerating when she had told him she'd be right behind him. Always in self-preservation mode, she hardly wanted to be left behind.

Unfortunately for her, self-preservation didn't matter much when the fates, or Adria, had other plans.


	9. Chapter 9

_Note: This chapter is a little intense. I'm still rating it w/ T (PG13), but just wanted my lovely readers to know what's coming :)_

**Chapter 9**

She felt her before she heard her. Jonas seemed to sense her too as he froze only steps away from the stargate's event horizon. Vala turned around. The soldiers had stopped firing. So had Jonas's friends. Everyone was looking around seemingly startled by the intensely eerie atmosphere that had just taken residence in the room. It was heavy, stifling, and very warm. And Vala could feel herself getting sick with its suffocating textures.

Adria was here just as she had known Tomin was in danger back at the base. She could feel her daughter's presence. She could feel it in every bone in her body.

She seemed to sense Vala's realization immediately. Her voice sounded as if it was exiting from every pore in the surrounding walls. "Hello, Mother."

Vala didn't take the opportunity to look at Jonas's expression of disbelief. Without a second thought she drove herself fully into Jonas and Tomin. Jonas didn't have a chance to recover before being hurdled into the wormhole with Tomin still in his grip. Vala fell on her knees, just short of the event horizon. She scrambled to get to her feet but was knocked on her back by a rush of hot air. She looked up.

Flames burst forth from the ceiling of the gateroom. She knew she wasn't dreaming it this time. She could hear the fearful cries from the soldiers who were witnessing it from the other side of the room. And then, just like her nightmare on Ver Isca, a skull formed and pressed itself out of flames in her direction. It lingered there and jeered at her a moment, before shaping itself into a face more familiar.

"Adria," she whispered in sick horror.

"Mother, you look surprised." Eyes still ablaze, her pretty face lit within the flames. "You witnessed my ascension. One would have thought you would have expected this."

"I think any mother might find it difficult to see their child appear to them by means of a ceiling of flames," Vala remarked with a hollow laugh.

Adria smiled at her reply. "Don't worry, Mother. I don't plan on trying to convince you to follow the Path to Enlightenment."

"Well, that's a relief," Vala replied and smiled prettily, realizing if she was going to survive this turn of events, it was best to just play to her snark. "Now I can show you off to all my friends."

"I have come to an understanding as of recently," Adria continued, ignoring her mother's comment.

Vala couldn't manage to sound impressed. "The dead Ori have been quite enlightening, have they?"

"Yes," she replied with another warm smile. "Apparently I've been much too tolerant."

"Tolerant in the sense that you haven't wiped out enough civilizations with your viruses and weapons or tolerant in that you haven't bored them enough with your rhetoric?"

Vala sounded far more unaffected than she really felt. Inside, she was beginning to feel frantic. This was not the Adria she had given birth to on an Ori ship. Beyond the flames and pretty face, there was a menace to her tone that was downright disturbing.

In her human form, Adria had been evil and frightening, of course, but there had been a piece of innocence and compassion hidden within her evil makeup that the Ori had been unable to tamper with. It was her humanity. While Adria had exhibited little intentions of being swayed from her beliefs, Vala had always believed, deep down, this underlying empathy would someday give her the opportunity to show her daughter another life. But now, the flaming essence above her seemed to render a different portrait. The expression above her was devoid of any humanity, and Vala couldn't ignore the raw fear beginning to settle in the pit of her stomach.

"I've been tolerant of you, Mother. Patient to a fault, trying to make you see the Path to Origin as the only true way to a blessed, infinite existence for you beyond this life. I have been kind. I have loved you because you are my mother. But I have finally realized in my ascension you never intended to open your mind or your heart to Origin."

"Really? Did the Ori inform you of that? I thought I had been quite up front with the whole thing."

"I know now that my time was wasted showing affection for you. Trying to show you the Path, when my focus could have been on other, more pressing matters."

"Well, there you go then," Vala said with a wave of her hand, sitting up. "I suggest following that first inclination. Let me go and no more of that time can be wasted on little old me."

"Oh, but I still have plans for you." She smiled sweetly, if flames could be described in such a way.

Vala forced a wide smile. "Darling, do these plans include a cruise to an island locale? I've heard that cruises can be quite nice this time of year. And I could afford a bit more color."

Adria only stared at her expectantly in amusement.

Vala sighed, "Wasn't housing you in my womb for nine months, enough? I believe I served my purpose. Must your Ori use me in some ridiculous plan again to take over the galaxy?"

"We don't intend to use you, Mother. We already have your galaxy."

Vala paled at the explanation. We? What did she mean_, we already have your galaxy? _

But Adria moved on. The flames in her eyes flickered and darkened. "You watched them inject me with poison on the _Odyssey_. You would have allowed them to kill me."

Vala's hair on the back of her neck rose swiftly. "We didn't have a choice," she said defensively.

Adria smiled darkly. "'Everyone has a choice.' Isn't that what _your__Daniel_ preaches."

Vala couldn't contain her shiver. It was the first time she had ever heard Adria speak about Daniel. She could tell by her face that, in whatever time Adria and Daniel had spent together, his betrayal had left a far more bitter taste in her mouth than anything Vala had ever done. Well, maybe except for the whole letting her die part.

She could sense Adria's patience was waning. She tried to explain, her eyes serious. "Ba'al had released toxins into your system, Adria, when we tried to remove him. You were already going to die. We were only trying to make it quick and less painful."

Flames licked the sides of her face as Adria's smile began to turn into a sneer. Her face continued to change, reverting to the hideous skull-shaped form that had first graced Vala's presence in the fire, but her voice sounded the same. "I disagree. I think you wanted me to die," the skull said in cold accusation.

Vala retreated, but the skull leaned in further, an awful blistering grin spreading across its face. "Do you know what it feels like, Mother? Dying?"

Even in the heat, coldness spread through her insides. "Yes," she whispered, remembering.

"Ah, yes," the skull leaned back. "Before I was born. On Ver Ager. Hmm…let's remind you."

Before Adria's words could sink in fully, the skull exploded, raining its fiery depths on everyone in its path.

The flames moved quickly, far quicker than Vala could have ever imagined. She didn't have a chance to even react, much less run before she felt her entire body overcome by her daughter's flames. She'd done this before. How did this repeat feel so twisted and brand new?

Amid the flames, Vala's eyes fell on a figure standing across the room, standing untouched while the bodies around her pulsed and buckled under the heat. She stood there silently while the blue shield her necklace emanated protected her in the violent environment. Adria, the Adria Vala had known in human form, was watching from across the room as her mother burned.

When had she arrived? Had she been there the entire time while the ceiling had erupted in her form? Had the flames above only been a trick? But Vala knew the fiery path burning up her body felt too real. Whatever Adria was, or was showing herself to be, had become unimportant. Only the fire consuming her body and mind mattered now.

She couldn't scream at first. The fire had captured her voice before she could use it. Keeping her silent, it burned through her clothes, her hair, and her skin at such an angry pace that her thoughts were lost. Her skin blistered and peeled. Her insides bubbled. Reds and oranges burned her retinas until everything went black. She didn't see the Ori soldiers or Jonas's friends burn like she did. She didn't see the furious flames take on the stargate, metal and naquadah starting to melt the gate into shiny puddles.

But in the darkness as she waited for an unwanted but now expected end, pain reared its ugly head. It wasn't familiar. It was angry and destructive. It was far worse than anything she had ever experienced on the fire altar. She could feel every lick of fire that ate away at her body. It was unimaginable. Indescribable. She was helpless to its devastation as her body easily capitulated to it.

All she had left were memories of Daniel to comfort her as her life gradually drained away.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Flames exploded from the gate. No one had a chance to warn the guards posted in the gateroom. In only moments, they were incinerated.

"Shut down the gate! Close the iris!" General Landry shouted to his technicians. The flames sought out every open space in the gateroom filling it like a fiery flood. Just outside the control room, SG1 watched the scene in horror, the blaze so hot, the thick glass started to blister under the intense heat.

"Blast doors!" Landry hollered. Heavy metallic doors dropped down over the window with a deathly shudder. "Open the vents. Put those flames out."

The technicians did as they were told while everyone waited for the report.

A minute passed before Sam spoke, looking up from her console, "The flames are out, sir, and the gate … is no longer active."

Everyone stared at Sam in stunned silence.

What the hell just happened? Only minutes before, Landry had begrudgingly left the iris open at Daniel's insistence, while the gateroom took a barrage of weapons fire from the gate. They had stood protected behind the blast doors until the blasts seemed to cease, then after a few minutes of quiet, Landry ordered the blast doors to be reopened.

Their view cleared just in time for them to watch Jonas and a second man tumble out of the gate and roll down the ramp. Jonas appeared to have knocked himself unconscious as he hit his head on the rough dive out of the gate. No doubt his tumble hadn't helped his previous concussion. The other man who had followed him looked far worse and had probably needed medical attention before they had entered the gate. Vala, on the other hand, had been nowhere in sight.

Dr. Lam and her staff had responded accordingly and retrieved her former and newly acquired patient. The door had just closed behind Carolyn and her new residents when the gateroom seemed to explode.

"Open the blast doors," Lam ordered once again after a few moments of silence, in a tone far calmer than one would expect.

The technician next to Sam quickly input the command code into the system. They waited as the doors slowly followed suit, allowing those in the control room to see what damage had been done.

The gateroom looked as if it had just taken the brunt of a Mark IX. Systems and control panels sparked angrily. Once gray walls were now a scorched black. The entry ramp had been completely displaced from the gate and was sitting in two misshapen chunks of steel on the ground. Nearby two charred bodies lay where they had only moments before guarded the gateroom.

Only the gate seemed relatively unharmed with a few scorch marks marring the stationary outer and concentric spinning inner rings. Since the wormhole had collapsed and was no longer active, the room had taken on a peaceful quality. Only one suited to a graveyard.

"Someone want to explain to me what the hell just happened to my gateroom?" Landry turned a demanding look on his staff.

No one replied. They simply stared at the sight before them in disbelief. No one could have imagined Vala's rescue mission would have resulted in this.

Realizing he wouldn't receive any sort of explanation in the immediate moment, the General turned his glare back to the gateroom and asked a question that his staff _could_ answer. "What's the status of the gate?"

Sam replied quickly, studying the monitor in front of her. "Preliminary system analyses show the gate has suffered cosmetic damage, but all systems are operational, sir," she finished, looking up, unable to hide the surprise in her voice.

While there were few, if any, circumstances in interstellar travel history where a gate had been destroyed, fire that had melted glass and steel had to be a formidable enemy. The fact that the gate had survived was a wonder in itself.

"Great. We got a working gate," Cam began, as he moved away from the control room window. "So that leads me to ask the first question." He pointed at the scorched out room opposite of him. "What _the hell_ was that?!"

"It looked to be fire, Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c offered the obvious.

"Yes! Yes, Teal'c! Thank you for that," Cam managed some over-exaggerated enthusiasm, slapping the Jaffa on the shoulder. "How about someone with a little more insight?"

"The steel ramps buckled under the heat," Sam observed. "Steel only melts at temperatures over 1800 degrees celsius. And the melting point for glass is about 2500 degrees celsius."

"So it's safe to assume it was pretty damn hot in there," Cam finished for her.

She raised her brows and nodded expectantly.

"All right," he said with a sigh, "it's pretty clear we have no idea, what the hell that was. How about question number two? Where the hell's Vala?" He looked at Daniel.

Daniel didn't reply. He was staring out the control room window, using every ounce of strength he had to keep his emotions under lock and key. He couldn't explain the fury and fear that had taken up permanent residence inside him when he had first heard her voice over the radio transmission. He was so furious that she had gone there to begin with that it had been difficult to maintain his normal subdued reactions. Now, after this, it was nearly impossible.

"I'm assuming that guy who rolled down the ramp was the source Jonas was talking about," Cam said, trying to encourage a reply.

Daniel crossed his arms over his chest and covered his mouth. What the hell had she been thinking! Her actions had put the entire SGC at risk. Two more men were dead because of her. He needed to be angry. If he were angry, he could ignore the soul-crushing fear beginning to take over. A fear he last remembered feeling when he saw Share's eyes glow for the first time. Where was Vala?

Sensing he wasn't going to get much of a reply out of Daniel either, Mitchell turned his attention to his other two teammates. "Do we even know if she got to the gate?"

"The wormhole could've shut down while she was on route," Sam offered, though was unhappy at that possible prospect.

"In that?" Mitchell's eyes widened, pointing to the once-enflamed gateroom.

She made a face. She didn't like the idea either.

"Is it not possible we would see her energy pattern stored in the memory buffer if that were true?"

Sam looked at Teal'c, "You mean like when your energy signature was caught in our system after you destroyed Tanith's ship."

He nodded.

"Yes, it's possible." She looked at the general, "But we won't know that unless we dial back to the planet."

The idea of dialing back to that planet clearly didn't thrill him.

"Sir, energy patterns like the fire we just experienced can only pass through the wormhole from the place the gate was initialized. It's unlikely we'll experience any ill effects from dialing back to the planet."

He nodded, albeit unhappily. "Go ahead, Colonel."

"Start the dialing sequence," she ordered the technician next to her. "If she's in there, a gate error should show up during the initialization." They watched the gate spin while Sam checked the stats of the gate's systems. By the fifth chevron, she glanced up and shook her head.

"Well, at least we don't have that problem to deal with." Mitchell glanced over at Teal'c. "I heard they had a hard time getting you back, Big Guy."

"I heard this as well," Teal'c admitted with a nod.

"Uh, okay we have another problem." Sam interrupted.

"What is it?" Landry asked, his voice tense.

The dialing technician looked up and answered, "The sixth chevron won't engage, sir."

"Is the problem on our end?" Cam asked.

Sam frowned. "It shouldn't be. Diagnostics show all systems are up and running."

"Doesn't this only happen when we have a second working gate on the same planet."

"Well, no, that's only been true when the seventh chevron won't engage and there's no power spike to indicate the use of another gate."

"So what else could it mean?"

She shook her head looking up at Cam. "The problem has to originate on the other end."

"Langera," Daniel elaborated.

Her expression sobered seeing his face. She nodded. "Judging by the speed at which that fire was able to destroy our gateroom, it's likely any extended time under that kind of intense heat and pressure could have damaged their gate."

"You think the gate was destroyed?" Cam asked his voice filled with disbelief.

"Best case scenario? Its dialing sequence may have only been damaged."

"How would we find out?" Daniel asked quietly, turning his gaze to Sam.

She matched it with an unhappy one of her own. It was an answer she couldn't provide. She looked at the general.

Landry frowned. "I'm sorry, Dr. Jackson. As you know, the fleet is stretched thin dealing with Ori movement into our galaxy. I currently don't have any deep space carriers to dispatch to Langera nor would I have any confidence in their safety on such a mission. Until we speak to our two patients, we can only hope Ms. Mal Doran's ever present luck has helped her so that she may cross paths with us again."

Daniel simply nodded, his jaw tight.

"In the meantime, I want this gate tested and cleared for travel. And a new ramp while we're at it," he demanded of his staff, who were already busily making it happen. "Colonel Carter is scheduled to leave in a couple of hours. And SG1 is scheduled to return to P4X-587 tomorrow morning."

"Sir," Sam tried to interrupt.

He cut her off, with a knowing look of fatherly disapproval. "Colonel, you have a command waiting for you in the Pegasus Galaxy where you have enough to concern yourself with. We won't keep you."

Sam looked a Daniel who was back to staring out the command center window. "Yes, sir," she complied quietly. She understood what they were facing and the last thing she wanted to do was leave them in the midst of it, but the general was right. She was responsible for a whole city now. She couldn't shirk her duties no matter how much she wanted to for her friends.

Landry turned his gaze on Daniel. "When Dr. Lam informs me that our two patients are well enough to share their adventures, I will notify you." He was speaking to the team, but his focus was on Daniel.

Daniel looked up, seeming to recognize the direction of his words. Giving everyone a brief look, he said, "I'll be in my office."

"I'll stop by before I leave," Sam called as he started to exit.

He paused, looked back at her for a moment, and half nodded before finally leaving the command center.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Sam opened the door and a surprised smile flooded her features. "Daniel."

"Thought I'd see you off," he smiled, his hands tucked away into their usual place.

"I'm just finishing packing. Come on in." She backed away from the door allowing him room to follow her into her guest quarters.

Daniel closed the door behind him while she moved past her desk to where she had a duffle bag laying open nearly full with clothing.

He found an empty desk chair at the foot of the bed and sat, quietly observing her while she bustled around the bare room. It was hard to believe Sam was already leaving again. She was back in her pristine Atlantis uniform, her hair pulled snug into a ponytail, looking like Colonel Carter and more importantly looking ready to resume her command of Atlantis. He smiled again, unable to contain his small pride at her accomplishment.

She picked up a shirt off a small pile of clothes and sat on the edge of her bed. Seeming to misinterpret his expression, she frowned in concern. "How are you doing?"

He shrugged. "I think I may have learned the name of P4X-587."

Sam nodded expectantly and began to fold the last of her clothes.

"I've been looking through the Asgard database and found a number of sources on the four-race alliance between the Asgard, the Nox, the Furlings, and the Ancients that reference a neutral meeting place for the four races. The location of these meetings changed pretty regularly to maintain secrecy. One of the planets stood out as being unique from the others. It was a terrestrial planet called Hira. It was the only one assigned to a planet in this galaxy. All other meetings seemed to take place in galaxies outside their own to promote neutrality."

"Did they provide a stargate address?"

"No," he said with a frown. "However, the planet had been chosen with the intent to discuss the topic of advancing technologies within the context of an advanced society. They intended to study the technology founded on this planet and make decisions about what technologies would be shared among each other. And they did refer to this planet as being on the outer edge of the galaxy, which P4X-587 is."

"So, Hira," Sam stated.

He nodded, "It's a long shot, but the pieces seem to fit."

"So when you go back, you're going to try and find reference to this meeting of the four great races?"

He shrugged, unable to hide his frustration. "It's all I've got."

Sam laid the pants she had started to fold in her lap and looked up at him with saddened eyes. "I'm so sorry, Daniel."

He turned his blue eyes on her, a smirk on his lips. "For what? This is what I do for a living."

"That's not what I'm talking about."

The smirk drained from his face and his eyes darkened with emotion before dragging them away.

Sam finished folding her pants and stood up to place her small stack of folded clothes into a suitcase sitting on her dresser. "Vala's smart. She's strong. She's resilient. With everything she's been through, I'm sure she's found a way to survive whatever this is, too."

"I know."

"Then…?" she pursued, looking up.

He smiled darkly and shook his head, "I've never written her off before… but somehow this is different."

Sam looked worried. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know." He stood up and paced the room slowly. "Every other time she's disappeared there was always an underlying hope. I worried, but somehow I knew she would be okay. This time, I'm not so sure. Something just feels wrong."

She was quiet for a minute contemplating her words. "Could your feelings for her be clouding up the issue?"

He stopped pacing and turned his head to give her a look. She only smiled at him knowingly. He sighed and looked away.

She closed her suitcase. "You're extremely close."

"Friends. Close friends."

"Nearly inseparable close friends."

"That doesn't mean-"

"No, it doesn't," she admitted, but her eyes said otherwise.

"We work together. You know better than anyone how well that works."

"Not fair. You can't compare me and Jack."

Immediately he regretted his words. "I know. I'm sorry."

"You don't know how difficult it was on her when you were gone."

Daniel didn't respond.

"Cam, Teal'c, and I had to keep her busy or we'd find her holed up in your office for days on end researching ways to try and find you. I can't tell you how many times I found her napping on your keyboard, or at your desk. Cam found her more than once curled up on the floor of your office with all the comforters and pillows from her quarters. In many ways, though she never said so, she was inconsolable."

Daniel scanned the room with his eyes. This is the last thing he wanted to hear. It was easier thinking she didn't care and that he had been ignoring his emotions because he thought she was merely working him over for sex.

Not that he hadn't wanted it. He had wanted it on nearly every occasion she had offered. That coy smile, those roaming eyes, the silky tone her voice conveyed whenever she tried to proposition him… it had taken every bit of strength he had to keep her at arms length. He just wasn't the one-night-stand kind of guy. He couldn't disassociate himself from sex, nor could he keep his heart and mind from interfering if he allowed their relationship to move to that level. Sleeping with Vala would mean more than it had with anyone in a long time. The emotional toll it would take on him would be something he couldn't return from.

Vala's experiences established the opposing view. Sex was a means to an end. Whether it was for survival or success, she never intended for sex to include emotional attachments. Her Goa'uld had taught her that sex could only be used to gain advantage or to serve as entertainment. Her experiences likely had little proof to view it otherwise.

He expected her to play to her sexual prowess. He understood where it came from. He understood that it was a self-defense mechanism, but he was unwilling to open himself up to the same indifference when it came to any possibility of shared intimacy between them. He didn't think his heart could handle it.

"I'm worried that she's gone," he admitted quietly with a sad smile. "I'm worried that I've lost her. It feels like Sha're all over again."

At the raw tone in his voice, Sam crossed her arms over her chest and moved away from her suitcase closer to him. "It's not the same," she told him, her eyes sympathetic.

"It just infuriates me that I fell for it again. She seriously had me convinced that she was going to go to bed and that she'd let me take care of things. Just when I thought I could trust her…"

"She wasn't being selfish, Daniel."

"I know, but that doesn't make me any less angry." He shook his head and directed the anger at himself. "There wasn't anything I could have done to stop her."

Hearing the vulnerability in his voice, Sam made sure his eyes locked with hers. "Don't give up on her," she admonished him softly.

That seemed to break him out of his reverie. "I'm not." He looked up at her. "I'm just pissed off that she's in this position again."

"Join the club. Do you know how many times we had to wonder if you were really dead?" He managed to look amused at that. "After a while Jack started calculating odds and taking bets."

"I think he admitted it to me once. Something about being 'sick and tired of me up and dying all the time.' He figured he could at least find a way to make some cash off it."

"He thought you were being a 'glory hound'."

Daniel smiled. "He just doesn't like the competition."

She chuckled and glanced at the clock.

"Time to go?"

She nodded just as the phone rang. No doubt a call reminding her it was time to leave. She sighed and moved to grab it before the second ring.

"Colonel Carter," she responded. Her eyes rose to Daniel as she listened to the person on the other line. She nodded. "He's here." She pulled the phone from her ear and pointed the receiver at Daniel. "It's Cam."

His brow furrowed before he stood up and retrieved the phone from her.

"Jackson."

"What is it?"

"He's awake."

Daniel straightened. "Jonas?"

"No. His source."

Everything inside him seemed to freeze. "Tomin?"

"Yeah, he's awake and we're cleared for questioning."

"How'd you manage that?"

"I worked my magic with Lam."

"I'll be right there." He looked over at Sam. "Tomin's awake."

She lifted her brows in surprise.

"Cam got him cleared for questioning."

"What he do? Charm Lam?"

Daniel gave her a wry look. "So he claims."

She smiled again. "Figured."

"I'll walk you down," he said as he moved to grab her suitcase.

"I'll be fine. Go talk to him."

He frowned, but didn't argue. He knew talking to Tomin was a priority with Vala missing, but he wasn't happy to be saying goodbye to Sam so soon.

She grabbed her duffle bag and swung it over her shoulder, while taking her small suitcase from Daniel who had snapped it closed for her. "Keep me updated?"

"I will."

She opened the door, allowing him room to leave before she closed it behind her. Sam paused, looking at him with serious eyes. "You'll find her. Or she'll find you. That more often seems to be the case."

He could only nod.

Her hands full, she moved in to hug his side. He helped, pulling her in tight against him. "Have a safe trip."

She nodded with another one of her familiar warm smiles before pulling away. It was her simple goodbye before heading off down the hall and out of sight towards the gate and Atlantis.

Atlantis. It was hard to believe that once he had planned his entire life around a possible future there. And then Vala had dropped in and interrupted his dream. Twice.

And for the first time, he realized, he didn't regret it. Somewhere along the way, his dreams had taken the shape of an entirely different monster. A monster with storm-colored eyes, dark wavy hair, and a smile that, when shared, could blind you.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

When he reached the infirmary he found Mitchell and Teal'c waiting for him outside.

"Where's Carolyn?" he asked anxiously.

"She's inside doing some last minute checks on Jonas before she lets us in there."

"So how'd you convince her to let us talk to Tomin?"

"I told you, I worked my magic."

Daniel gave him a tired look

"Your presence was requested, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c explained.

"It was?" he asked dubiously, looking at Teal'c.

He simply nodded.

Mitchell shrugged and shook his head. "I don't know how the guy's conscious. He looks like he's been hit by a mack truck."

Just then Carolyn walked out of the infirmary closing the door behind her quietly. When she turned around her face was displeased. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay, first we're setting a few ground rules."

"How's Jonas?" Daniel interrupted before she could continue.

She gave him a reproving look for being interrupted, but seeing his sincere concern, she relented with a sigh dropping her arms. "We currently have him in a medically induced coma. The last hit he took coming through the gate caused some pretty heavy swelling in the brain. This is the second serious injury to the head that he's received in a little more than last twenty-four hours. It will be a while before we know what the extent of the damage that's been done. However, we noticed after his first set of injuries, he healed at an accelerated pace. We believe his altered DNA from Nirrti's experiments may be responsible. We're hoping to see similar results, but like I said before, we won't know for a while."

"What about Tomin?" Mitchell asked.

"He's doing surprisingly well, in spite of the major concussion he's also suffered. He seems to be fairly cognizant. We currently have him on IV's and are pumping him with fluids to get him re-hydrated. His injuries look far worse than they actually are. His scans have shown no internal damage or bleeding, just a few cracked ribs and broken fingers. He's swollen and bruised, but we've put him on painkillers to lessen the sting. He'll be sore and hurting for a while. We're planning to keep him for a few days just for observation. However, he is by no means healthy, and he will continue to stay admitted to the infirmary until I deem him well enough to be released."

She saw Mitchell swap glances with Daniel, and she stiffened. "I'm not happy this. The medical wellbeing of my patients is always my primary concern and both of these men need their rest. I'm only allowing you to talk to Tomin because he requested you and so we won't have a repeat of what happened last night. My staff needs to be able to work without distractions and I will not have my infirmary become a circus."

"We won't overstay our welcome," Daniel promised.

Carolyn settled a little and frowned. "You have ten minutes. Then visiting hours are over. If at any time my nurses see him becoming overwhelmed. You're out. No arguments."

"Not a problem, Doc," Mitchell said.

She wasn't charmed. She only frowned more and moved aside to grant them entrance. Daniel nodded thanks and stepped forward. Mitchell and Teal'c followed close behind.

The bed occupied closest to the door was Jonas's. Only the sound of the machines surrounding him indicated that he was doing something more than sleeping. Tubes with all different functions seemed to come from every part of him and were feeding the machines his life signs.

Daniel wanted so much to be angry with Jonas, for following her, for encouraging her. It would give him a place to focus his anger and yet he knew Jonas was only following his own moral compass. Out of anyone, Daniel could appreciate that the most. How many times had he disregarded orders and rules to do the same only to leave disaster in his wake?

On the other side of the curtain that separated Jonas from his roommate, sheets rustled in movement. Daniel focused his attention on the man who had requested him.

Anger finally established its focus when he moved around the curtain and locked eyes on Vala's husband. They had been face to face before, but never in circumstances to simply talk. The last time he had seen him had hardly been on friendly terms. Tomin had used his blast weapon on Daniel and accidentally shot Vala when she'd tried to push Daniel out of the way. Daniel had then zatted Tomin and Adria while they were distracted with Vala's injuries. Daniel had never run into Tomin during his stay with Adria. She'd kept Daniel too busy trying to turn him into a prior to allow him to interact with common soldiers.

But Tomin hardly looked now like he did back then. His face swollen and bruised, various parts of his body wrapped in gauze, he looked as if he had just taken on a whole legion of priors. His eyes were closed and his face had a slight grimace to it, as he seemed to be managing the pain.

He wasn't sure why, but feeling anger towards this man who had done little to antagonize him, seemed the only right feeling to have for the moment. He was the reason Vala had gone rushing off in the first place. If he hadn't attempted to contact them, she would've never gotten into this mess. It didn't matter that the information Tomin could provide might help save the planet. Daniel was thinking irrationally now. He understood that. And at the moment he didn't care. He only wanted someone to pissed off at and since Vala wasn't here…

The sound of Mitchell and Teal'c entering the small space behind Daniel must have alerted Tomin to their presence because his eyes suddenly opened and fell on his visitors. They moved from face to face looking for recognition until they finally settled on Daniel. Even though Tomin had requested him, he hardly looked pleased to see Daniel. They shared similar opinions of each other, apparently.

Daniel stepped forward, knowing it was his job to begin the conversation. "I'm Daniel Jackson," he greeted not bothering to smile. "This is Teal'c." He waved his hand to the Jaffa at his left. "And Colonel Mitchell." He pointed to his right. "We're all members of a unit called SG1." Then he paused, "You asked to see me."

Tomin's eyes were unreadable. He only nodded.

"You spoke to Jonas. He said you had-" Daniel began.

"Vala," Tomin interrupted roughly behind cracked lips.

Daniel's face tightened. He didn't see Cam and Teal'c exchange glances behind him.

"Is she all right?" he asked, concern evident in his eyes.

"We don't know," Daniel replied stiffly.

It gave Tomin pause. He scanned the faces before him. "Where is she?" he asked, his voice sounding rusty and unused.

"We don't know that either. We were hoping you could help us with that," Mitchell spoke up.

Tomin dragged his gaze away and looked at the wall behind them.

"What happened?" Daniel queried quietly.

He grimaced again as he tried to sit up. "I don't know."

Mitchell attempted a move to help, but the glare he received from the patient in response halted him. He turned determined eyes back on Daniel. "Did she not return through the gate?"

"No," Daniel replied curtly.

"We must return for her," he said resolutely.

"Yeah, we've done this round robin before," Mitchell replied walking around Daniel to the other side of the bed. "Unfortunately, that's not an option at the moment."

Tomin stared incredulously at the two waiting for an explanation. "You do not want to rescue her."

"No. We do," Daniel defended firmly. "Unfortunately, we can't access the planet. There was an incident following your arrival and since then we've been unable to dial into Langera's stargate."

He dialed back his aggressive tone. "An incident?"

"After you and Jonas were retrieved by our medical personnel, a fire exploded from the wormhole into our gateroom, killed two of our men, and under a lengthier assault might have destroyed our gate."

"A fire," Tomin murmured, seeming to retreat into himself as a look of abject horror glazed over his eyes. After a moment of silence, he looked up at the men surrounding him. "What type of damage did this fire produce?"

"Melted glass. Broken steel. Temperatures around," Mitchell looked at Teal'c, "what? 3000 degrees Fahrenheit?"

Teal'c nodded.

"There is one fire that can damage more quickly than any fire I have seen," Tomin said, his eyes dark and thoughtful. "Only the fires of Celestis burn so devastatingly."

Daniel raised his eyebrows and cocked his head. "And who would be responsible for that kind of devastation?"

"I have only seen prior's use the fires of Celestis as a weapon," he admitted. Then his eyes seemed to cloud over. "Or the Orici."

"Adria," Daniel said slowly. "Did you see her on the planet?"

Tomin's eyes flickered. "No. But I felt her presence."

"When?" Daniel queried further, anticipation tingling up his arms.

His eyes had that far away look as if he were envisioning the scene it in his mind. "The past few days in the prison and in my cell, I sensed her. But it was more prominent while we were escaping," he murmured.

Daniel stilled. Somehow knowing Adria was directly involved in Vala's disappearance, didn't bring the relief he expected. Adria had protected Vala in the past, but somehow this felt different. Power could manipulate intentions and if she was ascended, she had far more now than she had ever experienced.

"So, she's back," Mitchell commented exchanging another look with Teal'c.

"Is she not an ascended being?" Teal'c asked, looking to Tomin for an explanation.

"Vala saw her ascend," Daniel supported. He looked back at Tomin "I'm assuming she's remained in that current state." Tomin didn't reply. He was still lost in his thoughts. Daniel turned back to his teammates. "Ascended beings are not permitted to use their power on humans in this galaxy. Not without the Ancients interfering on our behalf."

"Or so we thought," Mitchell retorted.

Daniel didn't appreciate that insinuation.

"I had hoped I had only imagined her voice." Tomin's words were quiet, but the alarm entrenched them made them all pause.

"You didn't see her. You heard her?" Daniel pursued.

Tomin looked up and studied Daniel's expression. "She was speaking to Vala."

"What did she say?" Daniel tried to keep his voice unaffected, but it was becoming difficult to find ways of keeping his worry for Vala under the surface.

He must not have been hiding it as well as he would have liked, because Tomin was watching him curiously now, but he took a moment to drop his head to try and remember. He looked up. "She spoke only in greeting to Vala. I remember little else."

"She may have been responsible for the fire we received in the gateroom," Teal'c suggested to the archaeologist.

Daniel kept his eyes on Tomin. "Have you seen Adria since she ascended?"

Tomin nodded. "She is Orici. A representative of the Ori who has come in human form."

"She is Orici? So she's still in human form." Daniel was unable to hide his surprise.

Tomin stared intensely back. "She is also Ori."

Daniel let the implications of that sink in. "So she can choose to ascend and descend at her whim?" he clarified slowly.

Tomin only frowned in confirmation.

"Okay, that's mighty unsettling," Mitchell commented, glancing worriedly at his teammates. "She's both? I'm supposing that means she gets a free pass when it comes to using her powers in this galaxy."

"She can use her powers against us as long as she is in human form. And she probably is responsible for the fires if she was in human form on the planet." Daniel stated looking at Tomin for confirmation. "Is that why you wanted to see us? To warn us?"

Tomin didn't reply he simply stared back at them.

Daniel felt his tightly managed anger starting to crack. How was this still happening? Why were the Ancients allowing the Ori to continue to ravage this galaxy when they clearly were bending and twisting the ascended rulebook? How far were the Ori actually allowed to go before the Ancients would actually step up and take them on? The glowing ember of anger that had been burning inside him towards his galaxy's supposed protectors since visiting Atlantis flared up. He was eternally tired of their excuses. Something needed to be done. Now.

"Look," Daniel said, his patience all but gone. He made his frustration and irritation clear. "I know you don't like us. And that you believe the Ori are all-powerful and well-intentioned, but you're the one who wanted to come here. Why?"

"For her," Tomin admitted quietly.

Daniel couldn't deny the twinge of jealousy that short reply inspired.

"She is in danger being here. They are coming and will arrive within four days. Their plans are for ultimate destruction of this planet."

"Great. So they're willing to rule over and dominate other worlds in the galaxy with their religion, but us? No, no. They just want to destroy us," Mitchell responded, looking pointedly at the Daniel.

Daniel ignored him and gave Tomin a hard stare. "And you support this. You think murdering over six billion lives is acceptable simply because we don't believe as you do."

Tomin was silent for a moment, his gaze unwavering from the archaeologist. "I believed the will of the Ori to be true in spirit and in written word. Their words have taught us that through character and good deeds we would be directed on the Path to Enlightenment to a new plane of existence."

"Ascension," Daniel clarified.

He nodded. "The book of Origin speaks of this truth in kindness, patience, and love. However, in recent months I have come to understand the book of Origin can and has been manipulated. This corruptness has moved far beyond the priors' war-minded tactics."

"The Ori," Teal'c responded.

He nodded once again.

"So do nothing?" Daniel inquired further, his anger still present. "Allow the Ori and the priors to destroy a galaxy?"

"I am only a man. I may agree with you that the Ori are no longer well intentioned, but one cannot deny the power of the Ori. There is little I can do. I only came to warn you so that you might escape and take her as well so that she might be protected. But it seems I have only led Vala to her end." The self-loathing in his voice was evident.

Daniel turned away. Just the thought of her…that way… made him want to snap. Hit something. Hit someone. The feeling prickled angrily under his fingertips. His fear of being without her unexpectedly ravaged his insides and fed an innate desire to take it out on the man lying in the bed. Daniel moved away from him. He needed to get a handle on himself, now, before he did something he sincerely regretted and Vala would later hate him for.

Teal'c stepped forward, apparently recognizing Daniel's need to separate himself for the moment. "Are you familiar with a planet by the name of Hira?"

Tomin looked up mildly surprised that the Jaffa had chosen to address him, but he seemed somewhat grateful for the change of topic. He looked thoughtful and then shook his head.

"It is a planet within our galaxy," Teal'c continued, "that has been abandoned many millions of years. During a recent exploration we discovered the remains of an Ori prior who we believe accidentally traveled to this planet through a stargate and was unable to return to his own galaxy. Before this unearthing we believed our galaxy to be untouched by the Ori until recently."

Tomin continued to listen quietly.

"This prior left behind a book of Origin. Daniel Jackson has been able to translate additional notes left in its binding. Often the term 'UbanLacun' is mentioned in reference to the story of Oman. Are you familiar with either the phrase or the story?"

"Both actually," Tomin said sounding somewhat intrigued. "UbanLacun is the name of a magical city in an old Alterran legend. And Oman is the pilgrim who began a quest in search of a secret city where the word of Origin was unknown. It is interesting that the two have been placed together in the same context."

"Why is that?" Mitchell asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"UbanLacun is, again, only a legend, but it shares similarities with Oman's quest. Their viewpoints, however, are in stark opposition." Noting the increased interest of the three sets of eyes on him, Tomin continued. "The first story is called UbanLacun. It is about a city gleaming with life. People are happy, their homes are strong, and their crops are plenty. However, the hawks in the sky are not allowed within the city walls because they are considered dirty scavengers who will ruin their crops and wreck their homes. The hawks in their jealous anger decide one day to destroy the city and all other cities like it. The city learns of this plan and takes action to stop the hawks. They choose to hide themselves and all the other gleaming cities amongst the stars so the hawks will never find them. They find a blacksmith to fashion a key that will even keep the gates to their cities locked and protected from these invaders if they are ever found. The hawks, however, never learn about the key. Neither do they find the hidden cities. The hawks realized too late what had been done and were forced to watch the cities twinkle at night and wonder. They were never able to determine if they were looking at gleaming cities or twinkling stars. The hawks renamed the city UbanLacun."

"In that story, hiding is encouraged," Daniel commented quietly from his post on the outer edge of the room.

Tomin nodded looking over at him. "Yes, and I remember all copies of the story suddenly disappearing from homes when I was only ten. There was no explanation. Only expected acceptance."

"The priors must have realized it preached the opposing view to the Ori. The Ancients, like the gleaming city, had left and hidden themselves among the stars," Daniel said in subdued comprehension "They disappeared from your galaxy millions of years ago leaving the 'hawks' behind to wonder where they went."

"Oman, in contrast," Tomin continued, "searched for the secret place. We were taught to subscribe to his character and seek out those in the galaxy who are hidden from Origin."

Daniel simply nodded. "It's the story of a man who followed the preaching of the Ori and was sent to find the Ancients or at least one of their planets. That's why the prior on Hira wrote these names down. He saw the relationship. He believed himself to be Oman. He realized he found the secret city or UbanLacun, the City of the Lost, from your legend." He paused his eyes narrowing in curiosity. "Did Oman ever find the secret city? I couldn't find any conclusion to that story."

Tomin shook his head. "No. We were taught to believe he had achieved enlightenment, which is why there is no end to his story. In enlightenment there is no conclusion. Only infinite life."

"Dr. Jackson, Col. Mitchell, Teal'c?"

All heads turned in the direction of the new voice.

General Landry was standing at the entrance to the infirmary. "I need to speak with you privately."

The gentlemen nodded and followed the general out into the hall, leaving Tomin behind with his curiosity.

"What is it, General?" Daniel asked first, tucking his hands into his pockets.

"We've found something."

"What is it, sir?" Mitchell inquired further.

"SG4 and SG7 just reported back. The tech people Vala insisted stay behind to continue taking the naquadah readings she discovered at the site of the prior's office?" They all waited in anticipation, while the general raised his brows. "Her readings were correct. They found a ring platform."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Dr. Jackson? Dr. Jackson!"

Daniel raised his head tiredly. Since arriving on Hira a few days ago, he had slept very little. Exhaustion and frustration were beginning to take their toll. He'd made the attempt to sleep on a number of occasions, but the synapses in his brain would not let him rest. They were too busy thinking about the complexities of the mythology behind Hira, Earth's impending doom, and Vala. His body wanted rest, but his brain and heart wouldn't let him. He was lucky if he'd gotten two to three solid hours a night since arriving back on the planet.

He looked over his shoulder toward the doorway of the prior's office at the man whose current state was in complete opposition to his. The excited physicist nearly bounced with energy as he impatiently stepped over the equipment standing in his path to get to the archaeologist.

"We think we may have the… Oof-" Dr. Lee said, tripping over his own shoes after having successfully navigated the boxes his team had left lying all over the classroom's carpeted floor. He grinned sheepishly seeing Daniel's bland expression. "Sorry. Must be all this excitement," he said, waving at his clumsiness. The grin remained as he stood still for a moment, getting his bearings.

Daniel nodded… and waited… and waited "The rings?" he finally inquired after more waiting.

"The rings? Oh yes, yes, right. The rings!" The balding physicist practically jumped. "Well, I- well, we, of course I mean, we- well, we _believe_ we've found a stationary control panel the Ori built to operate the ring transport." He grinned expectantly.

"Does it work?" Daniel asked dryly after a few moments.

Dr. Lee's excitement faltered only slightly. "Well, no, not just yet. We don't think the prior quite finished his construction of it. But we're of course, quite confident that after completing the structure we'll be able to activate the matter stream and send a person or an object to the nearest coordinates."

Suddenly there was a commotion of yells and shouts as an explosion of blue and green sparks rained down from inside the prior's office.

Dr. Lee's eyes widened in horror as he quickly excused himself from the archaeologist before jumping back over the boxes with hardly the grace of an Olympic hurdler. Covering his head, he ducked before entering into the second round of sparks.

Daniel could only watch in a combination of mild worry and amusement as he waited for the physicist's return. After a few more small explosions and a couple of wayward scientists madly dashing by the doorway, the angry sparks had settled. Calm returned to the prior's inner sanctuary. Daniel finally called out for the physicist.

"Bill?" Nothing. He stood up, his voice taking on the no-nonsense tone that usually got the scientist's attention. "Bill!"

A few seconds later, Dr. Lee's baldhead popped into the doorway with a grin. "Everything's all right. Everything's all right. No one's injured. We're all fine here. Just a little problem with the naquadah power conduit."

He could quickly see Daniel wasn't convinced.

"We'll have the rings in working order in no time. Don't you worry, Dr. Jackson," he finished with another grin before disappearing again behind the walls of the office.

Daniel widened his eyes in disbelief before turning away.

Seeing what lay before him, he let out a tremendous and frustrated sigh. He'd been looking at these piles of texts for what seemed like years and he still didn't feel like he had any grasp of what these Ancients were about, beyond what he had already theorized. There was no reference or illustration of the artifact he had found. No description of a cloaking device. He had found nothing that could directly serve Earth's current predicament.

Maybe if he had access to the Ancient databases, he thought, staring longingly at the console he was sitting at, he might be at least able to learn more about this artifact. If it were a cloaking device, he might find it referred to somewhere in there. And he could offer Mitchell and Teal'c some help as they tried to find a port.

Dr. Lee's other teams were currently working throughout the city trying to outsource what scraps of energy remained in the city's four enduring ZPMs to power up some of the other Ancient technologies. Though, Dr. Lee was far less optimistic about that outcome.

Daniel couldn't grumble too much. His research hadn't come up completely empty. He had found some information on the prior and his activities preceding the ascension that had thus far helped Lee and his staff with their work on the ring transport. And after spending time in his diaries, Daniel had also found that the prior had indeed arrived from the Ori galaxy and had discovered the planet accidentally, as Sam had guessed. The prior had naturally been surprised to find a civilization so advanced, and he hadn't immediately recognized them as the Alterrans who had once left his own galaxy. Likewise the Ancients hadn't recognized him as an Ori prior. It had been millions of years since their arrival in this newer, relatively younger galaxy. The newer generation of Ancients simply welcomed him and, realizing his intelligence far exceeded that of their own people, encouraged him to work within their educational system. They hadn't realized that allowing him access to their technology would ultimately lead them to their untimely ascension.

During the prior's early stay on the planet, he lived an isolated existence. Outside his new profession as educator, he kept to himself, his book of Origin often his only companion. Within the pages he began to find kinship with Oman. He understood these people knew nothing of Origin, and he began to believe Ancients were the members of the 'secret city,' the place Oman had gone on pilgrimage to find. The prior also believed the legend of UbanLacun, the City of the Lost, to be a direct parallel. He heartily referred to Hira as UbanLacun in his notes, the city that had been hidden away from the hawks in the stars. He didn't seem bothered to associate himself or the Ori with the hawks. He, in fact, seemed to consider it highly complimentary. He often referred to himself as a hawk on and off throughout his texts.

Longing to return to his home galaxy to inform the Ori of the treasure found in this new galaxy, the prior began spending his time studying transport technology. In the journals, in his narrative form, the prior explained his frustration at being unable to manipulate the stargate to gate himself back home. However, he quickly set his sights on another form of Ori and Ancient technology. Transport rings. He used his knowledge of this group of Ancients' advancing technology and his old knowledge of the Ori to create a new set of transport rings. One that could travel to other galaxies as long the nearby galaxy housed a set of transport rings. The prior spent years coordinating his efforts into creating these rings.

Much of the terminology and schematics throughout the prior's journals during this time period were difficult and nearly impossible for Daniel to translate without having an understanding in Ancient mathematical text and technology. Daniel translated it word for word as best as he could for Dr. Lee who was able to decipher some of the technology's intentions to use in his own calculations for the rings, but most of it was of little use.

In the prior's final entries, it appeared that he had nearly accomplished his construction of the rings when he got wind that he had been found out. A group of his students stumbled upon him and his work late at night. He feared his intentions had been discovered and weeks of worry and paranoia followed. No one acted differently around him, but in his journals he noted he was no longer receiving server broadcasts. Broadcasts that, Daniel could only assume, informed fellow educators of updates in current technologies and curricula. After the discovery that someone had been searching through his office and equipment, journal entries ended.

He was never able to figure out whether the prior was destroyed by the Ancients, or if he committed suicide in a burst of flames as other priors have done in the past. Daniel was only left to hope that the prior's work on the rings could be activated by Dr. Lee in time to play a part in the effort to stave off the Ori attack on Earth.

As he scanned the pile of texts to decide what to dig his brain into next, his eyes fell on the picture book Vala had first shown him back at the gate building. His heart clenched. He was constantly reminded of her and it was difficult not to worry. He had a job to do. Earth had little more than a day to hope the people of the Stargate program could find a way to protect the planet from an overwhelming alien force… again. However, even under this heavy burden of responsibility he felt for his planet, _his home… _his fear for her weighed just as heavy.

When had he started feeling this way? When had his feelings for her changed so dramatically that she equaled the billions of lives on a whole planet? He knew Sam was right. It wasn't just friendship. It was more. He didn't know when it had become more, but it had.

Aboard the Prometheus it, of course, had all been about the physical attraction. He'd been dry for a few years. Someone like her drops a few sexual innuendos and he was bound to submit eventually. She was fire and sex all wrapped up in one hot little package. How could he not kiss her back? And yet he certainly hadn't expected the burning in his gut the minute he had. It wasn't supposed to feel that good with someone who had just kicked you in the face.

And then later, with the bracelet debacle, he had just been plain infuriated with her. She had once again disrupted long-term intentions to join the Atlantis expedition. It had been a bitter pill to swallow and he'd taken it out on her. It hadn't seemed to bother her any, though. She'd thrived on his snark and anger, countering it with some sass and feistiness of her own, only to shock everyone and sacrifice herself at the first Ori beachhead. He realized in her absence how much he missed her, and in turn had to swallow another pill. A pill filled with blame and culpability.

But when she rejoined the second time, it had been different. She'd been through a lot and he could see her heart. It shined bright through the mess of confusion and guilt she felt for being the bearer of the Ori's new weapon, the Orici. She wanted to make a difference. She was a sucker for hopeless cases, like Adria and Tomin and him, and in spite of her crass and sometimes adolescent behavior, her sincere desire to make a difference and help people shined through.

When he'd found her after she'd been kidnapped by the Trust, he realized his feelings were more complicated than simply caring for her as a friend. When she'd clutched his jacket behind him and pressed her chin into his shoulder tightly, he knew he had far more invested in her than he ever should have allowed himself.

She hadn't only become a constant in his office. She had become a constant in his life. A welcome constant, no matter how much they battled with each other.

But for some reason he couldn't explain, those feelings he'd felt for her even then had increased tenfold after returning from the 50-year rewind trip on the Odyssey. Every word, every look, every move she made he found himself getting in deeper, and to which he responded by acting more antagonistic with her. It was the only counter he had come up with as a way of protecting himself. As much as he trusted her with his life, he never felt so sure he could trust her with his heart.

And yet, now, he realized he had already handed it to her a long time ago. Bruised and mended from past loves lost, she had happily taken it and claimed it as her own. With a little smirk, a lifted chin, a wide-eyed tease…she laid her heart out in return for him to see every moment she looked at him. She just played to hide her intentions behind saucy remarks and a wiggle of her hips. He had seen it, but refused to acknowledge it for himself. He'd left her heart waiting in her hands untouched.

Self-hatred bloomed inside. It was his fault. His worry, his fear that had kept her at a distance. He was responsible for her being gone. He should have said something. Should have told her how he felt. Should have kept her fingers weaved in his in the corridor that night. Comforted her the way he had wanted to. Back at the base, in the corridor, in his office, on this planet… so many opportunities lost.

When he had returned to the planet after hearing the news of the ring transporter, he had made sure to stop in the children's library where he had discovered her reading. He had stood there looking down on the piles of picture books she'd left stacked on the floor. He had recalled the moment when she had been sitting cross-legged, leafing through the set of children's books. Only the smallest of moments so bright in his mind, it had compelled him into retrieving the piles of picture books as a means of being reminded of her. He, of course, claimed to his teammates who waited for him quietly out in the hall that he needed the texts for his research.

Now alone, he lifted the book she'd been reading so intently when he found her, just to be reminded of her. It's binding and title etched in some shiny metallic material that had no doubt caught her eye, it was called _The Little Princess._ No doubt something she would have smirked at him about if he had informed her.

Those were the kinds of things he was constantly plagued with, sitting here and trying to find a solution for the galaxy's problems. The little things she would say or the things he imagined her saying while he struggled with all of this. His thoughts of her had become both a welcome and unwelcome distraction.

He leaned his elbows on the table and rubbed the heels of his palms into his eyes. If only he could identify the artifact. Find its purpose. He knew in his gut it could be the key to everything.

He sat up and stared blurrily down at the picture book. He opened up the front cover and slowly leafed through its pages in mild interest. He needed a break for his exhausted brain. However, as he passed the pages Vala had described to him, he felt a strange sense of deja-vu. A demon of fire chasing after a little girl? He focused his attention more closely on the illustrations of Vala's book. He remembered her narration as he followed the pictures.

"_The closet, the gardens, he always seems to find her. I haven't finished it yet, but I predict she will find a location by which he will never discover her.__Another planet maybe? And then she will live, how do they say it, happy ever after?""_

Affirmation sounded in his mind as a flame of anticipation flickered in his gut. He flipped beyond where she had stopped, his hope building. He flipped to the final page and froze. _Another planet? _No. Not exactly.

"Hey, Jackson. I brought a friend."

He jumped in his chair at the unexpected voice. He looked up and found Mitchell in a clean set of black BDUs with Teal'c at his side. Then his eyes fell on Tomin.

Also in a pair of black BDUs, Tomin wasn't paying attention to Daniel. His eyes were wide as they explored the surrounding environment. His face was still colored in multiple bruises, but he looked far less swollen, and he was walking.

His expression must have betrayed his disbelief at seeing him, because Mitchell explained before he could ask. "They're evacuating the base of all non-essential personnel. General Landry didn't think it would be smart to evacuate patients or staff off-base to a hotel or local hospital. They're in far more danger staying on our planet than sending people off-world."

"So, he sent him here?" Daniel said, watching Tomin wander the room in muted wonder.

"He chose to come here. Landry didn't exactly have the energy or time to deny the request. He's got other things to worry about."

"What about Jonas?"

"Oh, he's here, too."

Daniel's eyes widened. "You're kidding."

"No. And Carolyn. They're both back at the gateroom with a number of other patients she brought with her. He requested to be here too. And she wasn't about to let her patient disappear on her a second time. So she brought the whole infirmary."

"He's awake."

Mitchell made a face. "Ah, sort of? He's been kind of in and out of it for the past twenty-four hours, but when they were in the middle of transporting him, he made the request."

"How did he even know about this place?"

Mitchell shrugged. "I have no idea. Maybe he heard us talking about it with Tomin."

"Anybody else here I should know about?"

"Only a few more SG teams."

Daniel shook his head in mild disbelief.

"Have you discovered anything further, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked, his arms tucked neatly behind his back.

Daniel looked up in surprise. "What?" Then he remembered what he had just found and suddenly became excited. "Oh wait. Yes, just a second ago in fact." He pulled the picture book to the edge of the table. "Here look at this."

Teal'c was in eyesight first. He slowly straightened his stature clearly recognizing the illustrated object. "That is the artifact."

A grin spread across Daniel's face. "Yes."

"Wait, what? You found the artifact?" Mitchell moved closer to see the book. He inspected the pages for a few minutes, and looked up with a half a grin. "Well, I'll be damned," he said. "Is that artifact doing what I think it's doing?"

Daniel nodded in excitement. "It is a cloaking device, just like we thought. And," he said pointing to the first illustration where the girl is inserting it into the opening in her bedroom door, "the port is a door. An actual door." He looked suddenly sheepish. "We just have to find it."

"Ah, piece of cake," Mitchell said, stepping back. "There's only what? A million doors in this place? It's got to be around somewhere."

"A proverbial needle in a haystack," Daniel said, his feelings of excitement draining away. In all his revelation he hadn't considered how difficult it would probably be to find the right door for the artifact in this city.

"That's assuming it's not a proverbial door," Mitchell added thoughtfully.

Disappointment now ravaged his features. He hadn't thought of that either.

Mitchell tried to lift his spirits. "Hey, we can at least start back in the temple where we found it. It's likely to belong somewhere in that place first, right?"

"Yeah," Daniel said his aggravated thoughts seeming to take over.

"So it's what, like a key?" Mitchell leaned over and looked at the picture more closely.

"Hmm?" He looked up and quickly realized what Mitchell had asked and turned his attention back to the book. "Oh. Yeah. See here's the girl placing the artifact in the slot, turning it and here on the final page she's missing and the monster is left all alone wondering where she is."

"A flaming monster," Mitchell commented.

Daniel nodded and forced a bland smile, "Appropriate."

"Those Ancients and Ori need to work a little on their creative juices. All their stories have the same plot, just with a little modification in scenery or character. Flaming monsters, loving gods, and hawks…why don't they just stamp, ORI, across the top."

"Well, it makes sense," Daniel commented. "On Earth there are many different versions of one event. Like the flood for instance."

"Ah, I remember that story. My grammaw had this big wooden ark toy chest with all the animals inside. I used to play with it all the time as kid."

"Right, well, there were many other versions of the great flood. The story's not only told in the Christian Bible and Jewish Torah, but Mesopotamian mythology often refers to it along with other civilizations who survived during that time period. I imagine the story of the Ancients' disappearance into another galaxy would be a pretty big event for these people, big enough for varying perspectives to create their own stories about it."

Mitchell stared down at the picture book. "So this one is the Ancient version."

He nodded. "The story about Oman is the Ori version. And the legend of UbanLacun being the Alterran version that Tomin told us about."

"Which one do you believe is the correct depiction, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked.

Daniel frowned. "All of them in some form or another are correct. Most stories, like these, carry some truth."

"So in this story, what does this key hide exactly?" Mitchell asked.

Daniel shrugged looking back at the picture. "Anyone who uses it. The girl in this picture disappears as well as the door. Only the monster is left behind on the white page. So I guess we can assume the entire location of her castle disappeared too. So I would say this cloaking device at least hides the city if not the planet."

Mitchell looked startled. "Well, that's a pretty powerful cloaking device. Far better than Arthur's mantle which could barely handle a village."

"Assuming that it does what we think it does. We're assuming this girl is cloaked. It's possible it's a transportation device."

"To transport a whole city? That doesn't seem as likely."

"No. It doesn't," Daniel agreed. "But if this artifact is a key…" he paused, a realization suddenly coming to mind. "Clavia," he said to himself. Immediately he began searching through his books. He found the prior's copy of the book of Origin and quickly flipped through the first hundred pages. He stopped and ran his finger down the text. He looked up. "Clavia," he repeated. "The prior cites it the margin, _the key_ to _the__City of the Lost_. He was searching for it. He knew about it," he said continuing to read, "but he couldn't find it." He looked over at Tomin who was in the doorway watching Dr. Lee and his team work. "Tomin, didn't you say the City of the Lost had a key made to keep out the hawks if they were ever found?"

He looked over. "Yes. The blacksmith fashioned the key to all the cities."

"Did the story say where the key was kept?"

Tomin shook his head, his attention falling back on the work being done behind the walls of the new ring room. "Only that it locked the gates to the cities from all outsiders."

Daniel frowned, "Well at least that supports the idea that we are looking for an entrance of some kind, and not a proverbial door."

Mitchell's eyes dropped back on the picture book Daniel was leafing through again. "Where'd you find that book, by the way? I didn't remember seeing it in his office," he said nodding his head in the direction of where Tomin was standing. Daniel and Mitchell didn't see his forehead crease in concern as he watched the scientists fumble around with the ring platform. Teal'c, however, had noticed and was moving closer to the room to see how they were advancing.

Daniel's frowned deepened, before making solid eye contact with Mitchell. "Vala, found it the last time we were here."

Mitchell's face dropped a little, the energy in his eyes lessened. He simply nodded. Daniel turned his eyes back to the illustrations.

Mitchell looked back to Tomin and Teal'c who were both standing in the door. But Tomin's attention was no longer on Dr. Lee and his team, but on Daniel. He had probably heard Vala's name, though his expression was indiscernible. Mitchell tried to distract him. "Teal'c? Tomin?" he asked, sauntering over to them. "How do you guys feel about checking out some doors?"

But before either could take the opportunity to respond, the unbearably loud and familiar sound of rings crashing to the platform reintroduced itself to their ears, quickly followed by a blinding white light that erupted from the newly designated ring room and lit up the entire floor.

A few minutes after the unexpected disruption, as everyone was gathering their senses and looking at each other in disbelief, Dr. Lee's short form suddenly filled the doorway. He blinked rapidly, his eyes still adjusting after having been pummeled by the intense light. Then a grin the size of Texas widened his face as his gaze focused on his new audience.

"Well, gentlemen. I am proud to announce we have a working ring transport."

**A/N: 'Thank you' choc chip cookies go to Erin for betaing :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"So after I was able to adjust the control crystal to meet the needs of the coordinates which are already integrated into the system, I was able to modulate the pitch of the signal so that I could use this remote to activate the ring platform with a device that is more comparable to our technology."

Mitchell rolled his eyes. "Dr. Lee, can we take the pony ride or not?

"Oh, well, I-we... don't know if the matter stream is stable. I planned to test it on a few items, to make sure the energy understands it is coming from a viable source."

"And that source is?"

"Naquadah." Dr. Lee stared at him, seemingly surprised that the colonel's apparent lack of knowledge. "We drained quite a bit of the naquadah battery to pilot this run, so we may have enough for one more ring actviation. Then we'll need to resupply."

"And the likelihood of that happening?"

"Oh well, I-I don't know. I would assume we could get a new battery rather quickly. Within the next six hours?"

Mitchell looked at his team. "Is that quick enough?"

They all looked at him dubiously. "I thought not. Okay, Dr. Lee. Prepare for human transport." He commanded walking out of the room with Teal'c and Daniel following. Tomin watched with raised brows from the doorway.

Dr. Lee looked horrified. "Oh, but, Colonel Mitchell," he tried to argue, racing behind them to catch up. "We don't know if the matter stream is capable of maintaining your signature patterns. Nor do we know if the coordinates will drop you off on a life sustainable planet."

"We'll take our chances."

"But I only have enough naquadah power for one more transport."

Mitchell said, "Yeah, I got that part."

"But you may not have enough power to return!"

"Got that too."

"You could be stranded."

"Doctor, we don't have a lot of options." Mitchell paused and turned around with eyebrows raised."Unless you have another suggestion?"

"Oh! Well... I mean..." Dr. Lee said, stumbling over his words, "beyond the clearly viable of option of not going?"

Mitchell cocked his head at the scientist, his expression clearly indicating it was not an option.

Easily intimidated, Dr. Lee took a step back. "Right, well okay... you would probably need a source of energy portable enough to be used in any environment."

"The Prior's staff would sustain a large enough burst to initiate a transport." Tomin spoke up from across the room.

"You know how to use one of those things?" Mitchell asked.

He nodded. "They are similar to a soldier's staff weapon. I will not be able to use a prior's heightened powers with it, but I should be able to activate a ring transporter."

"Good. Then it'll be you, me, and Teal'c."

Tomin nodded.

"Wait a second. What do you mean, just you, Tomin, and Teal'c?" Daniel said, suddenly irritated. "I'm going too."

"Jackson, you can't go. I need you here. I need you to interpret the glyphs on that key in case you guys find the door."

"I have spent the last week and a half trying to decipher the glyphs on that artifact. If it hasn't happened yet, it's not happening anytime soon. The key should work without it."

"We don't know that. We can't take the chance-"

"I'm going," Daniel stated, his voice resolute.

"Jackson, someone needs to stay back to inform General Landry of what we've found." He looked over at Dr. Lee who was back in his ring room talking nervously with his scientists. Sparks blew unexpected out of sight and they all rushed to take care of it. "Somehow I just don't trust him to get it right."

Daniel was about to argue further when Teal'c interrupted. "I will stay, Colonel Mitchell," he offered. "I will speak to General Landry about what we've learned. And if Jonas regains consciousness I will further question him about the events on Langera. I will also coordinate the efforts to find the door for the cloaking device."

They all stared at him in surprised silence for a moment.

He raised a brow. "If you are concerned with my capacity in accomplishing these tasks-"

"No, not at all, buddy." Mitchell crossed his arms over his chest and looked over at the Jaffa, his eyes lit with respect. "We just appreciate the offer. You're sure?"

"I am."

Mitchell shrugged. "Okay, then." He nodded at Tomin. "So it's you, me, and Sunshine." He said pointing a thumb at Daniel.

Daniel frowned at Mitchell. "Nice."

"Only spreading the love," Mitchell explained, moving back over to the ring room. "Dr. Lee."

Dr. Lee quickly rushed away from the center of the platform where he was taking readings. "Yes, Colone Mitchell."

"When we're gone, I want you out of here. There's not enough power for you to start another transport anyway. I want your heads on those ZPMs. Who knows what kind of power we're going to need to get that cloaking device in action when the time comes."

"Well, yes… but I-"

"Good," he said, slapping him roughly on the back before walking away.

Dr. Lee stood for a moment with his mouth hanging open in mid-explanation before quickly closing it, realizing his argument had died before he had even begun. He shook his head and mumbled to himself as he walked away.

Mitchell looked at Daniel. "You going to change?" he asked.

Daniel looked down at his jeans and t-shirt. He shook his head. It wasn't worth the extra time.

"All right. We ready then?" Mitchell looked over. Tomin was already waiting with the staff weapon he had found in the office. Dr. Lee had been working on it since Sam hadn't had the chance.

"I'm ready," Daniel said, passing Mitchell his P-90.

Mitchell turned around and started backing away towards the ring room. After tucking his zat in his BDUs, he called out with a high wave to Teal'c, "Hopefully, the Ori will hold off their attack on Earth until we get back. You know me. I love a party. Especially when we've got big weapons."

Teal'c smirked. "As do I."

"I know you do!" Mitchell hollered with a grin, backing into the ring room behind Tomin. Daniel followed, rolling his eyes.

"All right, Dr. Lee. You ready?"

"I believe so. You understand we do not have communications capabilities once we-"

"Yeah, yeah. We're flying blind. Or in this case, deaf. Got it."

Dr. Lee shrugged and moved away while the remaining three men stationed themselves within the platform space. He mumbled quietly to himself as he tilted his head over his remote monitor. Teal'c stood at ease in the entrance while the rest of Dr. Lee's scientists synchronized their goggles.

In less than thirty seconds, the bright white light of the five transporter rings dropped around them refiguring their energy signatures into the matter stream. Within moments, the rings seemed to fall onto the platform of a new location, restructuring their patterns into their original solidified forms.

Mitchell scrunched up his forehead and tried to get his bearings. He looked down. "Am I standing in water?"

Tomin looked similarly confused as he looked around at his environment. Wet green fields ran as far as the eye could see with the exception of one single distraction. A large gleaming city waiting in the distance.

"Hey, I don't mean to burst everyone's bubble here. But we didn't get it wrong, did we?" Mitchell said staring at the city in the distance. "That's not the _City of the Lost,_ is it?"

"No. It's not," Daniel said with an unhappy frown. He looked back at the inquiring expressions before letting his gaze fall on the looming and ominous structures that didn't seem as attractive as when he had first visited over two years before. "We've just been transported to the Plains of Celestis."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Daniel stared at the deceptively serene looking city in the distance. The city of the Ori. The place where he had first been introduced to the book of Origin... where he had come face to face with the Ori for the first time. How, of all places in the Ori galaxy, had the rings transported them here?

"Celestis," Mitchell repeated. He didn't look at Daniel. His eyes were focused ahead on the city. "Isn't this the place where you shook hands with the Ori?"

"In a manner of speaking," Daniel replied.

Mitchell crossed his arms over his chest. "I thought it would be more… evil looking." He paused squinting at the city in thought. "Shouldn't there be flames or something…in the background, I mean."

"Somehow I don't think the Ori care to broadcast their darker purposes," Daniel responded dryly, matching his stance. "Otherwise Vala and I may have tried to find a quicker exit when we first arrived here two years ago."

"Yeah. I guess not." Mitchell dragged his eyes away from the city and dropped his arms. "But how did we end up here? Did the prior intend for those transport rings to drop us off here?"

Daniel's forehead folded in thought. "It seems like too much of coincidence otherwise."

Mitchell was quiet as he turned slowly to scan their surroundings more thoroughly. With watery green plains stretching out to the horizon in every direction, there was little to look at. Only the city, which stood to their east, obstructed the view.

He frowned before looking back at Daniel. "Got to admit I'm a little surprised. Kind of thought we'd end up in some tiny peasant village somewhere."

"Apparently we're not that lucky."

Tomin walked past them staring at the city in reserved awe. Daniel could only imagine how Tomin must have felt, seeing the shining city where the gods, who founded the religion on which his beliefs in life and death were grounded, presided. And yet to now know the intentions of his gods may not have been so benevolent? His face did not hide his conflict.

Mitchell sidled up to Daniel's side watching Tomin too. "So, what's the plan?"

Daniel raised his brows and looked over at him. "What was the plan before?"

He shrugged. "Check out the town. Talk to some villagers. See if we can get some numbers on how many Ori ships have been dispatched to our galaxy and what's left behind. Then hurry back and pass the news on to Landry."

"Don't think you're going to find any villagers here," Daniel commented, his gaze falling back on the city. "And somehow I just don't think the priors will be very forthcoming."

"Yeah, I kind of figured." Then Cam's brows dropped, his eyes having stilled on something near the city. Daniel followed his gaze. "Is that a ship?"

Daniel squinted and moved forward. Mitchell followed him.

Just above the city on the northern end, a very large circular shape was hovering. Daniel was surprised he hadn't noticed it immediately. Nearly half of the city was cast in the shadows of its looming mass.

"It is an Ori flagship," Tomin explained when they stopped their forward movement at his side.

Daniel didn't reply, he simply stared at the ominous sight. He didn't think it was possible for the situation to have gotten worse. Somehow it just had.

"How do you know?" Mitchell asked him, dropping his gun to his side. He stared at the floating object in the distance with unease.

"I was once stationed on this ship when I was a commander."

Realization darkened Daniel's features. He looked sharply at Tomin. "Is that Adria's ship?"

He looked at Daniel for a moment before nodding. "She is here."

"She's there, on that ship?" Mitchell looked at him not trying to hide his surprise.

Tomin slowly moved his gaze to Mitchell's. "Yes, but she is Ori. Her presence can also be found in the fires of Celestis."

Daniel looked quickly back at the city with a sense of foreboding.

"Okay, so let me get this straight." Mitchell looked at Daniel. "Adria's in two places at once? You're saying she's both in the city and on that ship?"

"She is Ori," Tomin stated simply again. "Their physical dwelling does not interfere with their ability to employ their power throughout the galaxy."

"And other galaxies, apparently," Mitchell mumbled. He looked over at Daniel. "Jackson?"

Daniel continued to stare at the city, his thoughts swirling with the implications. "In her ascended form she can be anywhere."

"Yeah, I got that, but if she's Ori, won't the Ancients stop her from using her power on us?"

Daniel's eyes drifted, in his mind he re-imagined Vala in the fires on Ver Ager. Had she had to experience that again on Langera? An angry bitterness settled in his throat. "They must have found another way to work around the Ancient rulebook." He looked over at Tomin. "And that explains her ability to descend at will."

"Right." Mitchell looked at both of them dubiously. "So not only are we talking about ascended-Adria, we're talking about human-Adria, too. I thought we had gotten rid of her."

When Daniel didn't reply, Mitchell sighed and shook his head. He yanked his stare back to the city. "So, what are we going to do now?"

Daniel stared at the city, too, unable to hide his frustration. Not only was his head consumed with anger, contemplating all things the Ancients had allowed to take place, but more and more Vala was becoming an ever present picture in his mind. Memories and thoughts of her rushed him. Her flowery smell when she showed up in his office after an afternoon of shopping and perfume-sampling with Sam. Her pigtails bouncing behind her as she chased after Mitchell and Teal'c on their missions off-world. The sparkle in her eye that she gave only him during a team meeting. Memories of her were consuming him. He needed to do something.

"We find her," he stated after some silence. Then he stepped forward, his eyes on Celestis.

Mitchell blinked a few times and then looked at Tomin who was just as startled. Realizing Daniel was gaining ground without them, both Mitchell and Tomin started following at a short jog. "Wait. Who? Adria?"

"Vala," Daniel replied briskly, matching his tone to his pace.

"She's here? Hey, whoa there. And how do you know that?"

"I don't, but I'm sure someone here does."

"So... what? We're just going to walk up to somebody and ask? Jackson, that's insane."

"The priors keep detailed records on everything. When I worked on the Sangraal, I was required to keep record of any and all modifications Merlin made to the device. It was downloaded to a server that broadcasted to the rest of the fleet. The city may have access to those records. Whatever happened to Vala might be in there."

Mitchell put a hand on Daniel's shoulder and looked at him with uneasy eyes, effectively halting their march. "Hey, buddy. You know I like to be optimistic, but we don't even know if she survived whatever the hell happened on Langera."

"Yeah, I know."

Mitchell cast a glance at Tomin. His face was expressionless as he stood seemingly entranced by the wet grass beneath his feet Mitchell sighed and his gaze fell back on Daniel. "Won't the Ori know we're here?"

"Eventually, if they don't already."

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

Daniel didn't reply. He gave Mitchell a pointed look then started walking again.

"All right," he said finally with an unhappy frown before solidifying his pace with Daniel's. "You know I'll back you up."

Daniel sent him a side-glance of appreciation.

Mitchell didn't acknowledge it. He was back in military form. His eyes trained on the city that was looming closer.

"The gates are unguarded," Daniel stated as the entrances came into sight.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean there aren't other precautionary measures in place."

Mitchell took the lead and held his weapon tight to his chest while Daniel and Tomin followed him up the hill. He slowed down as they closed in on the entrance. There were no doors, only an arching entryway. The Ori obviously had few concerns when it came to protecting their prize possessions or imprisoning their enemies.

Passing through the entrance, the three men were introduced to three long halls. Mahogany wood-work and other warmly-colored adornments hugged the walls in false welcome.

Daniel took the lead once they were inside. He chose the most familiar passage, the one on the left, the one that the Ori's prior had led Daniel and Vala down when first bringing them into the city. It was eerily silent now, just as it had been back then. They had followed him for what seemed like hours down long hallways without doors, until three or four floors up he had finally left them in what had seemed to be dining quarters. Daniel took Mitchell and Tomin on the same paths now, so he could get his bearings a little.

Having traveled four flights of stairs, Daniel stopped, staring down the corridor. It looked familiar, but all the hallways looked the same so he really couldn't tell.

"Know where we're going?" Mitchell whispered tightly, keeping an eye trained for any new hallways or entrances.

"Sort of." This was the first hallway they had come across that had doors to what seemed like rooms. Daniel took a few steps forward and placed his fingers on the doorknob. He waited for Mitchell to put his weapon at the ready, before slowly pushing it open and looking inside.

It was an exact replica of the room he and Vala had shared on their first visit to Celestis. A large dining table stood in the back of the room near the windows. Lounge seats and elaborately decorated chairs sat nearer the door waiting to be used.

"It's a replica of the room Vala and I waited in after the prior revived her," Daniel explained, seeing the questions on their faces. His gaze traced the room in remembrance. "It was the first time we were introduced to the book of Origin. I met the Doci not long after," he added after some thought.

Mitchell nodded, looking around. Tomin looked too, but he had become much more quiet as they traveled through the city his eyes following Daniel with cloaked emotion.

They only spent a little time in the waiting room. The room didn't hold any technology that would provide them with the information they were looking for. They searched the rest of the hall. The rooms were similar in style and also similarly not useful.

They moved to the fifth floor. Daniel wasn't as familiar with this floor, but like the last hallway, this was also lined with similar doors. They quickly learned that these rooms were the same in purpose and moved on to the next floor.

By the ninth floor, they had seen nearly a hundred waiting rooms and had nothing to show for it. They were going to return to the first floor to take another path when Tomin called out to them from father down the hallway. He found an additional set of stairs at the end. They followed Tomin up the small flight to a new, narrower hallway. The doorways were farther apart and shorter in height, more cramped looking. Tomin ventured into the first doorway. Daniel and Mitchell followed him in.

It was a surprisingly large, spacious bedroom. In the center against the wall, stood a large, double bed with what looked like four or five layers of comforters and pillows. Two wide dressers stood against the wall just underneath a long set of windows. Daniel looked out to see where they were while Tomin explored the dressers and Mitchell explored the spacious sitting area. The furniture in this area was antique in style but looked well cushioned. They surrounded a large sized, circular fireplace. Or was that a fireplace?

By Mitchell's expression he clearly didn't think so.

"Is that a stargate?" Daniel wondered aloud.

"It looks like one. Even if it is a miniature version."

It had caught Tomin's attention as well, as he had not found anything in the drawers.

"It's tall enough to step through," Mitchell added, reaching his hand up to feel the small sized chevrons at the top.

"Somehow I just don't think it serves the same purpose." Daniel said, feeling more troubled than intrigued by the smaller version of a stargate.

"You got a bad feeling, too?" Mitchell asked, looking over at Tomin.

Tomin only frowned in response.

"Yeah," Mitchell replied, unconcerned with the lack of response. He read his face pretty well. "Let's get through these rooms and get out of here."

They exited the room and stepped back into the hallway.

"Split up?" Daniel suggested. "We'll get through them faster."

Tomin already seemed to have thought of that as he had moved ahead without them. Mitchell nodded and moved across the hall. They didn't take their time. They moved in and out, quickly observing the room before moving on to the next one.

Daniel had just finished closing the door behind him when he heard Mitchell calling for him.

Mitchell was standing a few doors down and looking at him with a strange expression on his face. Even Tomin, who was nearly all the way down the hall, seemed to pause at the catch in Mitchell's voice. Daniel moved closer. But when he saw his face clearer in the light, he hesitated. Even in the short distance he could tell by Mitchell's eyes something was not right.

He didn't ask or say anything, he simply moved forward. Mitchell stepped away from the door to clear Daniel's view.

The room was exactly the same as all the others. The wide spread of windows across the opposite wall, the dressers, the sitting area surrounding the small stargate, the bed on the opposite side of the room…there was nothing special about it that he could see. Except for one small thing. The bed… was currently occupied. Atop the covers and comforters, a small, familiar female figure was curled up on the bed, lying in a fetal position with her back to him.

Daniel stepped forward, his heartbeat picking up speed as he began to see her clearer. She was clothed in an elaborate white and gold strapless gown, the train bunched up around her bare feet. Her wavy, black hair was spread out behind her on the pillow where her head was resting.

He continued to move in slow motion for fear he might not have found what he had hoped. Moving past the end of the bed, he leaned over slightly to see her curled up form more clearly. Pale arms crisscrossed tightly over her chest. Her hands were tucked in, under her arms, out of sight, above where her knees had been drawn in. She wasn't asleep. Her eyes were open, but glazed and unseeing. She looked like a child, withdrawn and frightened after having experienced something traumatic.

While she looked physically unharmed, it was clear something was wrong.

He crouched down next to her so that his face was level with hers, he tenderly touched her face. "Vala," he whispered softly.

She didn't respond. Her stare remained unchanged.

He moved a strand of hair away from her face. "Vala," he repeated. He didn't change the volume of his voice, but it was difficult to keep it steady.

He moved down further when she didn't respond and tried to connect her eyes with his.

Vala," he tried once again, softly touching her cheek. "I'm here."

Her body seemed to shudder. She blinked a bit, the cloudiness in her eyes clearing, but confusion reigned as she tried to focus her gaze on him. He was patient, moving his hand up to her temple, stroking her hair calmly while she seemed to adjust to his presence.

Her eyes locked with his, confusion receding as recognition emerged. She blinked back at him in astonishment as she tried to lift her heavy head and raise herself to a sitting position. Her arms shook weakly under the strain. Quickly he got to his feet and helped her sit up, moving her so that he could be at her side and keep her steady.

He placed his hands on her bare shoulders and ran them down her arms. She was cold to the touch. He continued to move his hands up and down her arms to warm her.

She looked up at him, confusion returning to her eyes at his touch. "You're freezing," he murmured in explanation.

Her brows furrowed at him. "Daniel?" Her voice broke.

His hands stilled at her wrists. He caught her blinking gaze with his own.

She looked down at his hands. He released her and waited. She slowly and tentatively took his fingers in her own grasp and turned them over.

Studying her while her hands manipulated and explored his to make sure they were real, relief slowly flooded him. She was alive. Seeing her here, touching her, hearing her voice no matter how raw it sounded…was indescribable. And yet multitudes of questions still tugged at his mind.

He ducked his head to capture her eyes. "You okay?"

Her eyes returned to his. Fear reigned there. It was an emotion she rarely showed. It inflamed the trickle of worry he had felt the moment he had seen her. She had been emotionally and mentally ravaged. He could see it all over her face.

She pressed her lips together and tried to nod, keeping her gaze strong, but it wavered. She paused, turning her eyes away so that he wouldn't see. He watched them widen and her brows lift in an attempt to keep the tears at bay. He touched her chin and guided her gaze back to his.

She attempted to raise the corners of her mouth in a convincing smile, but his expression, so filled with worry, caused her weak smile to crack. She blinked rapidly, dropping her head, fighting again to keep herself hidden.

"Look at me," he murmured softly, trying to break through the walls.

She looked up in surprise at the insistence in his voice. She searched his eyes with hers. He responded by moving another strand of hair off her cheek. He tried to keep himself wide open for her to see.

A moment later the dam broke. Her eyes filled fast as she battled to stop her face from crumpling under the weight. But soon her breaths became broken and in moments a small sob finally escaped as the tears came rushing down her cheeks.

He could feel himself breaking just watching her. Without a word he gently pulled her into his arms. Weak with exhaustion, she didn't fight him. She slid her arms around his waist and pressed her face against his chest, and she cried against him, her whole person giving up its fight. Pressing his cheek against her forehead, he tightened his hold. Silent sobs and uneven breaths wracked her body and he waited. He waited while her body drained itself of every trauma, every event, every experience she had to deal with over the last few days.

Daniel held her as endless minutes passed. After a while her body's shaking tears dimmed to soft and controlled breathing. She didn't pull away when her trembling subsided. She simply stayed. And he didn't argue. It was the first time he felt completely at home in a long time.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Cam dropped his head and looked away, his eyes searching for something else to focus on. He felt like an intruder, standing there while Jackson and Vala held onto each other for dear life. It was hardly the position he wanted to be in, but he knew keeping them in sight in the city of the enemy was more important. So there he stayed, in the doorway, keeping an eye on the hallway and an eye on them to make sure no unexpected visitors arrived to interrupt their tender moment.

As moments turned to minutes, he kept his eyes trained for any sign of trouble. A bad feeling was beginning to settle in his gut. Spending all this time in one place was likely to bite them in the ass. It usually did. But he didn't want to press things with Vala either. Who knew what she had been through? He didn't want to put her out any more than she had been already. Right now she needed Jackson. And Cam was okay with that, but they needed to get moving. Soon.

His eyes fell on the other member of their three-man team sitting alone at the end of the hallway. Tomin had arrived in the doorway soon after Jackson. The moment his path had cleared and his eyes had fallen on Vala, Tomin had frozen in place. His face a mixture of joy and disbelief, he stood there in shock as Jackson went to her.

Tomin hadn't been prepared for the scene that followed and judging by his face, he probably imagined himself in Jackson's position. Comforting Vala. Holding her. He was her husband, after all. In all fairness, it should've been him. His only intent on this whole trip to Earth had been to rescue his estranged wife. And now he'd arrived only to find her affections elsewhere.

Tomin chose not to interrupt the intimate moment between the two. When Vala broke down, he didn't stay. He bowed his head and walked out. Cam kept an eye on him, leery that he might have to leave his friends alone to go off and bring Tomin back, but the Ori soldier had stayed within eyesight. Tomin just moved to the other end of the hallway where he sat on the floor and stared at the opposite wall his gaze distant and unfocused. Endless minutes ticked by before his head finally dropped into his hands in desolation.

ooooo

On the other side of the room, Vala pulled herself away from Daniel. She looked up at him, her eyes red-rimmed and glassy. She managed a hollow laugh upon seeing his expression. "Well, that was humiliating," she said, wiping her dripping nose.

Daniel frowned at her. "Don't do that."

She looked up, a new smile in place as she tried to mop up her face with the back of her hands. "What? Bawl all over you?" She looked at the front of his shirt and her face fell. "Oh, I left some spots," she said sheepishly.

He looked down. Seeing the wet areas where she had cried on him, he expressed an unconcerned frown in her direction. "They'll dry." He leaned forward and touched her chin lightly. "You've been through a lot."

She sniffed then matched his gaze, her eyes darkening. "You have no idea."

He tried reading her expression. "You want to talk about it?"

"No," she said, brightening a little and sitting up. "I'd rather not talk about anything at the moment."

"Okay," he relented, but wasn't thrilled. He could see her quickly throwing up the walls again.

Her eyes searched the room, and her face lit up when they fell on their guard at the doorway. "Mitchell!" she said with a smile. "Come along for the rescue?"

Mitchell started, his attention dragged away from the hall, realizing he had just been addressed. "What? Oh, Vala. Yeah, thought I'd come along." He looked concerned. "How are you doing?"

"Oh," she waved, "you know, nothing a hot bath and those foamy soap bubbles and bath beads couldn't take care of." She tried to get to her feet, but her knees buckled and Daniel had to grab her waist to keep her from falling. Mitchell quickly moved away from the door to help.

"You're weak," Daniel admonished. She had regained her footing and seemed to be holding herself up, but she was still teetering a little. He only released her when he thought she was steady enough on her own. Mitchell stood nearby watching her warily.

"I take offense to that," she said, hardly sounding offended at all. She moved tentatively away from the bed. "Body's just not in working order. Need to move around a bit."

Both men frowned as they watched her move ever so slowly over to the sitting area and then turn around to come back.

"Anyone happen to have any of those little white tablets Dr. Lam keeps in her cabinets?" she asked as she walked feebly back trying to become more comfortable on her feet.

"Aspirin?" Daniel asked with raised brows. He looked over at Mitchell. "Uh, no, we didn't really have time to pack up before we left."

She hesitated, letting her eyes roam over Daniel. "Apparently, my rescue doesn't require proper SG1 attire?" she commented dryly with a painted-on pout at Daniel's jeans and t-shirt. Then she smiled, barely. "Not that I'm complaining, mind you." She moved slowly over to Daniel. "I do enjoy you in just about anything, Daniel, or nothing at all," she finished with a smirk, though her snark wasn't in prime form. He could see her so clearly. She was masquerading her emotions, trying to divert attention away from herself and what had happened.

He swallowed a growl of frustration. He didn't know exactly what Adria had done, but he wasn't going to allow Vala to try to erase this. And he wasn't going to let her push him away with blatant flirtations. It may have worked in the past, but it wasn't going to now. He decided in that moment to match her intentions.

He moved intimately closer to her and gazed down into her tumultuous eyes. She nearly retreated in surprise, but he was too fast, grabbing hold of her elbow gently. "As you've made sure to remind me on numerous occasions. As far as the attraction goes," he lowered his voice, "the feeling _is_ mutual." He waited for her playful pretense to fade as she succumbed to the shock of his words before he continued. "But you need to stop this flirty-sexual thing that you do. I know you're upset. Don't try to put on that mask with me."

She was frozen in his grasp, her expression bare.

"I know you, remember?" he reminded her softly, removing his hand from her elbow.

Her silver-blue eyes wide, she couldn't even manage a nod.

He had just opened the door, even if only a crack. He had no idea what the ramifications would be, but he was sick and tired of denying or ignoring everything he felt for her. And while the current moment didn't exactly serve the extended conversation he wanted to have with her about it, a small token of how he felt might be enough to get past this masquerade they both continued to participate in.

So he waited for her response. She looked past him to Mitchell in confusion, but Mitchell only smiled knowingly before dropping his gaze to the floor at the awkwardness of having to be around during what should have been a private moment.

She moved her eyes back to Daniel. He could see her searching. He looked down and moved his hand to hers. He slowly threaded his fingers through hers. Matching her gaze, he lightly tightened his grip in validation.

She stared down at their intertwined hands before looking up her at him once more. Her eyes were wide and teary.

"How did you know where I was?" she asked softly.

Daniel smiled. "We didn't."

She managed to raise her brows.

"Mitchell found you," Daniel added.

She moved her eyes to him. "How?"

"Stroke of luck," Mitchell replied with some dubiousness of his own. He exchanged glances with Daniel.

She kept her curious gaze locked on Mitchell but kept her fingers intertwined with Daniel's. "That's quite a stroke of luck. May I borrow it sometime?"

Daniel narrowed his eyes on her mild surprise. "I think you did."

The corner of her mouth lifted as she looked away. Her voice was dark and distant. "Sorry, darling. I must disagree with you there."

The worry that had already moved into his heart hardened. He knew that whatever circumstances had befallen Vala had been bad, but for her to so blatantly admit them? He didn't even want to think about what had been done to her in his absence.

"We found a ring platform," Mitchell informed her after some silence.

She looked at Mitchell in confusion. "A ring platform?"

"It's how we got here," Daniel explained. "You found it when you were collecting naquadah readings."

"On that Ancient planet? P4-whatever?"

Daniel nodded again. "The Ori prior was building it to transport himself back to the Ori Galaxy. We imagine his intention was to inform the Ori about our galaxy. He might have known it would bring him here. It's pretty coincidental otherwise," he finished, looking over at Mitchell.

"Probably programmed the coordinates to transport him from Hira to Celestis directly, so he could bring the information to the horse's mouth so to speak," Mitchell said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Vala's brows furrowed more in confusion.

Seeing her expression, Mitchell dropped his arms and looked sheepish. "Oh, right. We didn't tell you… Jackson figured out the name of the Ancient planet."

"Hira?"

"It was a location where the four great races, the Asgard, the Ancients, the Furlings, and the Nox, met millions of years ago," Daniel elaborated. "I found it in the Asgard database."

Her brows furrowed some more. "No, I've heard it before."

Daniel straightened. "You've heard it? Where?"

"Adria," she murmured, lost in her thoughts.

He frowned and dropped his head closer to hers. "Adria?"

"She was speaking to the Doci…I don't…" she shook her head, as if trying to clear her mind. Then her face cleared as a frightened realization settled into her eyes. "Some of the fleet has been dispatched there."

Mitchell leaned his head forward, as if to clarigy he heard her correctly. "What?"

"There's a weapon or device of some kind. She knows it's there. It's the final stage before they exact a full-out strike on the galaxy." Vala looked up, her eyes wide and anxious. "They're probably already there."

"Then we got to get out of here. We had people being sent there because we thought it was a safe haven. They're completely unprotected," Mitchell announced, straightening up and pulling his weapon to ready. "Let's go. We have what we came for," he said starting to move back towards the door.

Daniel paused in front of Vala before following Mitchell. "You okay to walk?"

"Yes, Daniel, the girl can walk by herself." Vala smarted back. Yet seeing his slighted expression, she dropped the snark. "I'll be fine, Daniel," she said softly, moving closer.

He nodded but couldn't hide the unhappiness he felt gazing down at her. There was so much he wanted to say. So much she needed to hear. But he stayed quiet and only tightened his grip on her hand before pulling her with him towards Mitchell. She willingly followed, keeping her hand tucked in his.

Daniel and Vala's attention to each other had distracted them from the third party now waiting for them at the door. They didn't notice Tomin until he was a few feet away and in the path of their exit.

They both stopped abruptly in realization. Vala stiffened, staring wide-eyed at her husband. Keeping her hand in his, Daniel took a small step back to allow her to take point while wondering himself how much he should say, if anything.

"Tomin?" she whispered in disbelief, moving slightly forward.

Tomin could only stare back, his eyes understandably and heavily guarded. He nodded.

She whipped her head around to look up at Daniel. She cocked her head in stunned confusion. "He's okay?"

He looked down on her and nodded. "Carolyn checked him out."

"You brought him with you," she clarified with disbelief in her tone.

Daniel's eyes settled on Tomin. "He wanted to be here."

She twirled around again and stared at the man whom she had married and lived with for nine months. He probably looked like a stranger now, his face still bruised and swollen from his imprisonment on Langera.

She let go of Daniel's hand.

Daniel stared down at his empty hand as Vala moved away from him. He didn't like the feeling it instilled in him, but he closed off the rush of emotions.

She gave Tomin an unsteady smile. He met her gaze keeping his sentiments fortified, but Daniel could see his walls cracking as she moved closer. Tomin didn't deny her as she put her arms around him to hug him in relief.

Daniel watched Tomin's face contort as he fought against responding to Vala in the way he wanted to. It was obvious he loved her. But when he lifted his gaze to meet Daniel's over her shoulder, his eyes were conflicted.

Daniel realized relatively quickly what Tomin had probably seen minutes before. Vala in Daniel's arms. He could only imagine what it looked like. Well, he didn't need to, actually. If it looked anything like it had felt having her there, there was little Daniel could say to make him think otherwise. And yet Tomin hardly looked battle-ready. In fact, he looked beaten. He dropped his gaze from Daniel's and pulled out of her grasp.

Her forehead scrunched looking up at him, her eyes bright with concern and curiosity. "How are you feeling? Last time I saw you…"

Daniel knew it was a question Tomin wouldn't answer. He was an honest man and the moment did not adhere to the truth of his feelings.

"You look awful," Vala said touching the large purple and yellow bruise on his cheek.

Mitchell spoke up from the hallway where he was waiting for them, staring down the hallway anxiously. "Okay, again, I hate to be a nag, but we need to get the hell out of Dodge. I keep getting the feeling our presence here may not be such a secret."

Daniel nodded, knowing this reunion would have to be postponed. "I agree. We need to go." He moved forward to Vala's side.

Just then the gate behind them started to move. Daniel turned around and watched with the others in bewilderment as the chevrons from the smaller stargate began to light up red. There was no inner spinning concentric ring. The chevrons just quickly lit up. Daniel never saw the panic cross Vala's expression at the sight as she roughly grabbed his arm. Neither did he move as she tried to pull him away. His eyes were locked on the smaller gate.

Flames erupted from where the event horizon was located. A frightningly familiar figure emerged from the fiery inferno.

Seeing the horror on their faces, Adria smiled easily at her audience. "Hello."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Mitchell didn't waste any time. He immediately raised his weapon and fired. A blue shield encircled her, easily neutralizing the weapon's fire.

The shield evaporated soon after and Adria stepped forward. She smiled prettily and dropped her chin, staring at the colonel. "Have you forgotten so quickly," she said, her voice calm.

Before anyone could react, Mitchell's body was lifted up from the ground and thrown through the door like a rag doll by an invisible set of hands. His weapon fell out of his fingers as he crashed against the door on the opposing side. He hit his head so hard, he was unconscious before he hit the floor.

Vala quickly turned her wide, fearing eyes on her daughter, while Daniel made a move to push her through the door out of harm's way. But Adria had perceived his intentions, and the door to their only escape slammed shut.

Daniel turned an angry glare on the impish face across from him. Her eyes sparkled. She seemed to feed on his anger.

Then she shifted her smiling eyes on Vala. "Miss me, Mother?"

"No. Not particularly," Vala managed to reply, but her eyes were battling tears once again. She backed up into Daniel.

Adria's smile faltered when he put his hands on her shoulders protectively. But it returned full strength moments later.

She raised her brows. "It seems I am intruding."

He fought the urge to snipe back at her.

She looked at Tomin, who was standing close to the door. He was watching Vala, his concern unmasked. "Tomin. You have returned," she said, sounding pleased to see him. He looked up and stared back unwaveringly at the Orici. "And for a rescue mission, I see," she said, her voice laced in amusement. "How does it feel? Seeing your wife in someone else's arms."

Tomin shared a dark look with Adria.

She only smiled turning her eyes back to Vala. "I never realized my mother was such a whore."

Fury tore a fiery swath through Daniel, but Tomin snapped first. No one could have expected the rage that exploded from him as he lunged at Adria with a roar.

She met his action swiftly with barely a tremor of surprise. He didn't have a chance. Violently his body was lifted off the floor and pitched across the room. His head flew back as it hit the corner of the dresser underneath the windows.

Daniel grabbed Vala as she cried his name in an attempt to go to him. Adria moved away from them and followed the path to where she had thrown Tomin.

Shockingly Tomin was still conscious. Streams of blood trickled down his face from a deep gash in his forehead as he fought to get up off his hands and knees. Adria reached him first.

"Apparently my mother's extramarital activities don't bother you," she quipped looking down at him, seemingly unaffected. "Does not the book of Origin teach us that marriage is a binding contract? A man may not share his wife with another. Nor shall a woman give herself freely to another man who is not her husband."

He looked up slowly, the fury still strong in his face.

She smiled in return, but it wavered when Tomin finally spoke, his voice quiet and malicious. "We are not married."

Adria paused. Vala froze in Daniel's arms. Daniel looked over at Tomin in shock.

He did not look at Vala or Daniel. His focus was on Adria, dark fury barely contained in his eyes. He sat up, suddenly fearless in the face of her subdued surprise.

" 'A marriage will be annulled if the husband or wife is separated from the other for more than a lunar cycle within their first ten months of marriage,' " he quoted from the book of Origin. "Vala has not been my wife for nearly a solar year now. You preach Origin, but you do not know your own laws," he said, his eyes filled with censure.

He rose to his knees, ignoring Adria's heated stare. "I have not lost the Path, Orici," he said boldly, his voice also rising. "It is the Ori who have lost sight of the Path. You once believed in truth and kindness of spirit. Your words once collected the hearts of millions under the banner of compassion and unity. Now you are consumed with fire and control, forcing your people to go out into the galaxy and enact your will with condemnation and hate. I will no longer follow a power so devoted to such malevolence."

Anger flickered in her eyes. She was silent for only a moment. "Then you have served your purpose."

She backed away. Daniel watched her with a feeling of unease. It was only when Vala jerked against him that he looked at Tomin.

Tomin was watching Adria through narrowed, angry eyes, but something was wrong. His face had darkened. Daniel recognized immediately what was happening. He had experienced it himself. The invisible grip around your throat, your air slowly cut off as your windpipe closes under the pressure of unseen hands. She was strangling him.

Only this time Adria, added the extra measure of weightlessness. He rose to his feet as she lifted him by the throat. Tomin continued to rise slowly by a strength that was not his own. In a matter of moments, his feet were no longer touching the ground.

Vala fought viciously for Daniel to release her. "Daniel!" she grunted angrily, scratching at him, but he had his arms locked around her now. There was no way he was going to let her put herself in the way again. He had a feeling her relationship with Adria had dwindled to the point where there was little promise Adria would attempt to heal Vala if something did happen. He wasn't going to take the chance. Especially now that he had her back.

But then Adria did something to Tomin that neither Daniel nor Vala could've expected. Her back was to them. They didn't see her eyes light with flames as she lifted a finger. All they saw was the flame that suddenly materialized at Tomin's feet. There it teased the hem of his pant leg thoughtfully, as if it were trying to decide which direction to take before it began to move slowly upward.

Tomin still had his capacities about him. Her grip must not be as tight as Daniel originally thought. Tomin looked down, unable to hide the panic that consumed his features as the flame burned. His eyes turned enough to look over at Vala. She could only stare back in mute horror.

Adria saw the look. She turned back and looked at her mother. She smiled cruelly, and Tomin burst into flames.

Vala burst out of Daniel's arms. Before Daniel could stop her she had thrown herself at Tomin, using her body to put out the flames. Adria released him and he tumbled to the ground on top of her.

"Vala," Daniel yelled, intending to follow, but suddenly felt himself held back. With no one in sight, he knew who had created the invisible hold on him. He shot her a battled glare. "Adria," he yelled out in frustration.

She wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were watching the scene at the other end of the room. Somehow Vala had managed to put out the fire on Tomin using the blankets and comforters from the bed and her own body. From Daniel's vantage point, he couldn't see Tomin's injuries or if he had managed to survive. The flame of fire that had grown in mass and enveloped him in a matter of seconds had likely taken his life.

But he could see Vala. She was still on the floor, staring up at Adria, hatred filling her blue-gray eyes. "How could you do this to him?"

Adria was silent. She only kept her narrowed eyes on Vala.

"You are not my daughter," Vala said, her voice cruel as she began to stand.

Adria smiled darkly. "We agree."

"You were never my daughter. Adria died on the Odyssey," Vala finished, her voice low with abhorrence.

"Oh, that is where our positions differ. Adria was a seed of the Ori, implanted in you for the sole purpose of incubation. She was never your daughter."

"I bore her. My genetic make-up was used to create her. You can't convince me otherwise. Her humanity made her my daughter." Vala's eyes were valiant in the face of the Orici. She didn't see the tiny flames that had begun to dance on the train of her gown. Daniel did.

"Vala," he called out, his eyes locked on the bottom of her dress. But she ignored him. Her focus was on the Orici.

"Her humanity made her weak," Adria said, calmly moving closer. "She thought she could change you. She thought she could have influence over you. Her love for you blinded her from your true intentions."

The dancing flames on Vala's gown had intensified. Daniel frozen in his invisible bindings was beginning to get frantic. "Vala!" he called again.

She didn't hear him. "My intentions were to love her." Vala shot back, her voice rich in heartbreak, still not noticing the flames that were now dancing around her feet. "I don't know that I would have been a very good mother, but I would have loved her with my whole heart. And I never would have let anything happen to her. You were the ones who took those intentions away from us."

"She was created to serve the Ori."

"And she served her purpose."

"Vala! For Christ's sake!" Daniel hollered desperately, trying to battle against his bindings only to find himself even more restricted. The more he fought, the less he could move. All he could do was watch helplessly as the flames crawled higher up the skirt of her ornate dress.

She finally looked over at him, his alarmed tone grabbing her attention. She quickly noticed the flames, but she hardly reacted in the way he would've expected. She didn't jump. She didn't run. A look of haunted comprehension crossed her features as she recognized the flames. She looked at him, and he stared back at her in disbelief. They were teary, but inevitability governed in her eyes.

"Vala," he said insistently again. Panic was rising in his throat. Why wasn't she trying to get away? She wasn't acting surprised or shocked. She only shook her head with a small smile for him. To his dread, he realized she had accepted this fate to burn. "Vala, what are you doing?!"

She turned to look at Adria, not moving from her position as the flames started to race up her back and ignite her hair. Silent accusation as well as understanding of her own certain death settled in her stare.

Adria backed away slowly, her eyes flaming.

"I loved her and she loved me," Vala said, flames scurrying further up her body. "She never had the same affections for you, did she? You were only her creator." Daniel could hear her trying to be strong, but it was obvious she was struggling now, trying to stand erect in the flames. The fire encompassed her fully now. Still burning through her clothing, her face was in a continual grimace as it began to attack her skin.

Fear and rage burned through him hotter than any fire Adria could ever create, but he was absolutely powerless.

Adria only smiled as she watched Vala burn. "Maybe so," she said in a softly sinister tone. "But as a creator, one always shares the same power with creation as they do with destruction." She took another step, and her eyes enflamed. "As you are readily familiar."

As if her final word were a cue, the flames erupted into a raging blaze. No longer allowing Vala to fight, her body quickly capitulated to the fiery mass. Daniel didn't even hear her cry. The only cry he heard was his own as her blazing body finally tumbled to the floor under the assault. Moments later the fire dwindled to a trickle and quietly extinguished itself, leaving behind Vala's charred and lifeless body.

Suddenly released from his invisible hold, Daniel fell to the floor. His palms holding him up, he stayed there for a moment, disbelief and anguish taking its toll. He looked up and stared at her blackened remains.

Only a few feet away, he didn't bother getting to his feet. He reached her in moments on his hands and knees. He moved to touch her face, waiting for it to sizzle. It didn't. She was cold to the touch.

He sat back on his legs, lifted her, and then settled her into a position on floor where he could hold her in his lap. He pressed her face to his chest, rested his cheek on her head, and waited. Waited for her to come back. His chest felt hollowed out. Empty.

He looked up at Adria, his sinuses and throat burning. "Bring her back."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

The response was silence.

Holding her limp and lifeless body in his arms, Daniel could feel hopelessness surging within him. He couldn't do this again. He couldn't lose her too. He refused to allow fate to take away another woman he loved.

Anger and hate swelled in his gut. He looked up, unadulterated fury clearing his blue eyes, but his voice was steady and quiet. "I know you've done this to her before. Do it again. Bring her back."

Adria didn't smile. She was merely silent, her brown gaze emotionless.

He met her gaze unwaveringly. There was no question in his mind that Adria had burned Vala before. Vala's expression had spoken volumes as the flames raked up her body.

Burning at the hands of the Orici should have elicited the same reactions from Vala as it had with Tomin. Shock, fear, panic… and yet, as he watched Vala, he saw her recognize the flames and accept her destruction as if it were a customary conclusion. The flames had been familiar to her. They were a known enemy, but different from the ones on Ver Ager. This new fire had taken her life away once before…on Langera. Daniel had seen it in Vala's eyes.

"You will only watch me do it again," Adria spoke coldly after the silence stretched on for what seemed like hours.

Daniel ignored the chill that settled over his anger at her words. "Bring her back," he ordered again in the deathly quiet.

She stared at him a moment longer with inexpressive eyes. He was sure she was only going to provide him the same opportunity to feel the fire of Celestis, when Adria straightened her stance and looked down at the lifeless form in his arms. Slowly, without words, she kneeled down in front of Daniel. Staring at him, she placed her hand over Vala's motionless chest.

Daniel matched Adria's gaze as a warm yellow light rushed from her palm and into Vala. He didn't remove his eyes from Adria's. Minutes passed as Vala's body slowly heated up in his arms. He could almost feel her lift as Adria's life source rushed though her. He didn't see her skin return to its porcelain form. He only felt the hair beneath his chin revert to the soft smooth mass he was familiar with. Only when he felt her chest surge with her first breath, did he drag his eyes away from Adria.

He looked down. He couldn't see her face, her hair was in the way, but he could feel her quiet breathing against his chest. She moved a little against him, and after a minute he felt her arms slip around his waist. She pressed herself close to him. Her body shook in a slight shiver.

The scale on which relief surged through him was overwhelming. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and squeezed her back.

He looked up at Adria, his eyes narrowed. "You can leave now," he ordered unappreciatively.

Something indefinable flashed in Adria's eyes and she stood up. Her familiar smile returned. She said nothing, she simply stepped away, a cruel smile widening as she watched him. Behind her the gate where she had arrived fired up.

He didn't watch her as she stepped through the flames of the gate, leaving them blissfully alone. He could only focus on the woman who was once again breathing in his arms.

He didn't say anything. He just held her, immensely grateful to feel her body pulsing with life. The room settled into a peaceful silence.

"Daniel?"

He looked down at her dark head. "Yeah."

"What do they call this on your planet? Deja yu?"

He smiled to himself. "Déjà vu."

She hummed in reply, snuggling up against him. He let her, enjoying it far more than he ever imagined.

"Thank you," she murmured finally after a few minutes, breaking the stillness.

His forehead crinkled as he lifted his head from hers. "For what?"

"Returning to you is far better than waking up on a cold floor alone."

He didn't reply right away. He tightened his hold on her and dropped his mouth to the top of her head. Her response brought to the surface an ugly inclination he had had when Adria had told him she would only burn Vala again.

"Vala?" he murmured into her hair.

"Hmm…?"

"How many times has she done this to you?"

She stilled. Silence followed.

He leaned back and lifted her away from him. Darkened eyes stared back at him from a flushed and life-filled face. Relief stormed his senses once again.

She stared back at him, her expression void of emotion. "Eight times."

"She's burned you with the fires of Celestis eight times?" he asked quietly, it was difficult to keep the hate out of his voice.

She shrugged a little. "Ten times if you count that time we were on Ver Ager."

"Vala," he admonished.

"What?"

"This is not okay. Don't act like it's fine."

She laughed shortly, shaking her head in exasperation as she looked away. "What else am I supposed to do, Daniel? Mope? Soak myself in it? I've done it. Trust me. It was a little more difficult to act so nonchalant when all I had was myself to lean on the other seven times."

His features scrunched up in concern as he touched her face tenderly and lifted her gaze back to his. "Are there any side effects?"

He watched her eyes warm under his look. "Tingles. But I've had them before."

"I shouldn't flatter myself, huh?" he said quietly as a distant memory washed over him.

She managed a small, tired smile. "No. I'm pretty sure it's not you."

He matched her smile, but then grabbed a blanket from the ruffled bed above them. The rest of his smile disappeared as he wrapped it around her. "Does this help?"

She nodded and matched his eyes as his hands closed the blanket around her throat. "Though I much preferred you as my blanket."

He continued to pull the blanket until it was tight around her. "Well, this will have to do for the moment."

She smiled, her eyes sparking with the tiniest flirtation. "Sounds promising."

He looked up in surprise at her mild teasing. He searched her face. It was hard to believe only moments before fire had scalded a path up her body and stolen her life away. Now here she was flirting with him again. It was a familiar dance, but his reaction wasn't familiar. He didn't attempt to hide it.

Vala's smile disappeared as she read his expression. "Daniel," she murmured, confusion returning to her gaze.

He didn't retreat. He held her gaze with his own resolute one.

She moved her hand up to cover his. He was still holding the blanket closed just above her chest. "I'm okay," she said softly.

"Why would she do this to you?"

Vala sighed and looked down. "Revenge. Power. And any other thing the Ori have going on in their collective minds. She's not my daughter anymore, Daniel. We call her Adria, but Adria's gone. Her humanity was lost in the ascension. She is only Ori now. Whether she uses her Ori power to change herself into human form or not, any part of me that made her Adria is gone now."

Daniel listened quietly, still close, keeping the warmth of the blanket closed around her.

"They lied to her, Daniel," Vala said, shaking her head sadly. "Just like they lied to everyone else. They never meant for her to ascend. They only wanted her for a figurehead, their walking, talking representative for the human race. By placing a piece of themselves inside her, they thought they could control her, manipulate her. And they did. She thought she could follow the Path to Enlightenment, but it was never waiting for her. Only death."

She looked up at him. "We did destroy them, Daniel. The Sangraal? The weapon was effective, but we never considered the Ori that were hidden away in Adria. Her necklace protected them from the weapon when she unknowingly brought it into the Ori Galaxy through the supergate."

"So during her ascension, it was only the Ori part of her that ascended," Daniel concluded thoughtfully. "Not Adria."

She nodded. "They regained their power and resumed their march into our galaxy."

"So, now Adria is finally the Ori in human form."

Vala nodded. "Completely." She looked over to the inactive gate where Adria had entered the room. "The priors created those gates so the Ori can ascend or descend to human form at will. They've built them here in the city. They've built them on their ships. They're even building them on occupied planets. The prior's created a gate that allows the Ori to take human form without worrying about the whole baby incubation period. Apparently, I was quite the hassle."

"Hmm…" Daniel cocked his head, managing a mildly amused tone. "Imagine that."

She raised her brows in false haughtiness at his delicate tease. "Well, I know I can be a bit demanding, but every burgeoning mother must be granted some allowances and spoils."

He smiled, but the lightheartedness in his eyes then faltered and her eyes dropped away at another thought. "They continue to use human form to get around the Ancient rule book. They know the Ancients will do nothing against humans no matter who their puppeteers may be. I'm beginning to wonder if the Ancients would do anything even if the Ori weren't portraying themselves as human."

Daniel nodded, his face unhappy. "I've wondered the same thing."

She locked eyes with Daniel once again. "They chose Adria's human form for a reason. They knew the following she has amassed in her role as Orici would only continue to follow her image." A dark smile clouded her features. "And then of course they chose her form because it seems to work best to torture _me_ with."

She moved her eyes to his hands. "I thought I had mourned her death, Daniel. I thought I had put my guilt to rest. Yet every time I am forced to face her, I'm reminded of how much I haven't. I don't know if I ever will. And it's what she wants… they want," she corrected herself. "They want me to be reminded and punished for my inadequacies as a mother. They want to remind me that I am responsible for her death." She smiled sadly and looked up, finally meeting his gaze. "Even though it isn't even her."

"I suppose the Ori didn't appreciate us taking their creation away so soon."

"No they didn't."

"You could take it as a compliment," Daniel said, pulling the blanket around her a little tighter, subsequently pulling her closer to him. "That they would put all this time and energy into torturing you, means you must have been more influential to Adria than you imagined."

"I failed her," she said her eyes staring off in the distance. "I was her mother. It was my responsibility to protect her."

"There was nothing you could have done."

"No, but it doesn't make me feel any less responsible." Sadness soaked into her features. She looked up at Daniel and gave him a tired smile. "I suppose you understand better than anyone how much it hurts, to feel responsible yet helpless when the ones you love are taken away from you."

"Yeah, it sounds familiar," he said dropping his eyes, thinking of Sha're. "It doesn't ever go away. Not completely. Our love for them. Or the feeling that we failed. But it becomes more bearable. And you realize that life needs to continue without them even if you never forget that feeling or them."

Vala stared up at him for a few minutes, studying him. "I would have liked to have met her, I think."

"Sha're?" he asked looking up in mild surprise. Then seeing her face, the corner of his mouth lifted. "Yeah, she would have gotten a kick out of you."

She perked up a little. "Really?"

His smile mellowed. "Yeah."

"I am quite the charmer," she informed him seriously.

He studied her for a moment. "Yes, you are."

A smile lit her features, but it was interrupted by an unexpected and ragged sounding groan from the floor beside them.

Daniel turned his head in surprise as Vala's eyes widened in horror. In his worry to take care of Vala, he had completely forgotten about Tomin. Daniel let her pull away and forget about the blanket as she gingerly tried to get to her feet and go to him. Daniel got to his feet also and followed her close by to make sure she was able to stay on her feet.

Once Tomin was in sight, Daniel's gut clenched. What was left of his body after Adria's attack was similar to how Vala looked after her own encounter with the fires of Celestis. Skin charred and blackened, hair scorched away, clothing burned to mere threads… the difference with Tomin was that they could see his agonized blue eyes staring back at them.

Vala fell slowly to her knees by his head. "Tomin," she murmured, unable to keep the despair out of her voice. She tenderly touched the marred the skin on his cheek.

Powerlessness returned. How could he possibly still be alive after that? Daniel looked at Vala again. She met his gaze, her eyes pleading.

"Can you help me move him to the bed?" Daniel asked.

She nodded, getting to her feet. Daniel moved to his head and motioned Vala to his other end. Getting down in a crouched position, he moved his hands under Tomin's shoulders and lifted him up slowly so he could get a full grip around his upper torso. He grunted as he finally got himself in a position to lift him off the ground while Vala had his legs in her weak grasp. As they struggled to get him to the bed in one-shot, Tomin whimpered lightly. Like the radiation poisoning Daniel had once experienced, he could only imagine Tomin's pain to be just as excruciating.

Moments later they finally had him laid out with his head raised on the pillow that Vala had been sleeping on earlier. Vala moved around to the other side of the bed facing the door and crawled over the bed to where Tomin was laying. He was mostly quiet. Seeming to bear the pain as silently as he could, the tears leaking out his eyes the only indication he was suffering.

Vala got on her knees near his chest, and touched his shoulder tenderly, her face a mask of guilt. "I'm so sorry."

He grimaced before licking his lips. "I don't blame you."

"You were better off not meeting me."

"No," his voice cracked. "I have only become a better man having known you."

Daniel knew it was difficult for her to imagine having that kind of noble impact. Vala would forever struggle to define her character as being anything other than morally ambiguous or fraudulent. It was his fault partially. How many times, in a spout of irritation or annoyance, had he reminded her of her unscrupulous past? He could only hope Tomin's conviction could reshape her self-perceptions better than Daniel had ever done.

Vala moved her fingers to the reddened skin above Tomin's eyes where his eyebrows had once been. "Why didn't you tell me about the marriage?"

Tomin was silent for a moment. "I was selfish," he finally managed to say after a few moments, his voice gravelly and raw sounding. "I wanted to keep you as my wife."

"I would have liked that," Vala murmured with a smile.

"No. You wouldn't." His eyes moved to Daniel. "Your heart belongs to someone else."

Vala frowned, refusing to look at Daniel. "That's ridiculous. I married you, didn't I? I thought we made a wonderful couple."

He barely managed a smile.

"See, we're perfect together," she smiled brightly in return.

He maintained his smile, but it was sad. He could read through her attempts to make him feel better. "You were never a good liar." Tomin moved his stare to the ceiling. "It didn't matter. I loved you anyway."

Vala laughed and looked away, but it sounded hollow. "Then you clearly weren't a very smart man. I was never worth your love." Her gaze met with Daniel's. He could see her eyes starting to shine.

"You're worth more than I could ever offer," Tomin said, his voice breaking. He swallowed, pain flashing across his eyes. "I'm only happy you found someone who can offer you everything."

"Tomin," Vala whispered, wanting to argue, but Daniel intruded softly.

"Vala, we have to get him out of here. I don't know how long he can last untreated."

She looked up and took a deep breath, trying to collect herself. Finally she nodded. "Do you have a plan?"

"No not exactly, but-"

Suddenly there was a huge bang on the other side of the door. "Jackson! Vala! You still in there?" _BANG!_

"Yeah, we're here. Tomin's injured."

_BANG!_"Yeah, I'm trying to get,"_BANG!_ "back in."

"Why is he doing that? He's going to hurt himself." Vala said looking at Daniel, curiosity creeping into her shining eyes.

_BANG!_"Well, I think he's trying to break the door down," Daniel replied as if it were obvious.

"Mitchell,"_BANG!_ she called with a sniff. "Did you try the doorknob?" _BANG!_

Then the sound of Mitchell crashing against the door came to an abrupt halt. Vala hopped off the bed and headed for the door. Then his voice came, exasperated. "Of course, I tried the doorknob. Don't you think-"

He stood there, frozen, when Vala opened the door.

Daniel's eyes widened when he saw Mitchell standing there. "Are you telling me that door was open the entire time?"

She shrugged. "Only after she left. She held it closed when she was here." Seeing his dubious expression, she elaborated. "As I'm sure you've noticed there are very few gates or locks in this place. They have little concern of those escaping. They are ascended beings. They can easily stop anyone who tries to leave. If you manage to get away, either their focus is elsewhere, or they want you to leave."

Seeing Daniel's look, Mitchell put his hands up in the air. "I swear. It was locked."

Daniel chose to turn his attention back on Tomin. "Come on, let's go. We need to get him back to Dr. Lam."

"Right." Mitchell quickly moved over to Tomin with Vala close on his tail. He hesitated when he saw him. "What the hell did she do to him?"

"The same thing she's going to do to the rest of us if we don't get out of here," Daniel said, immediately moving to Tomin's head.

"Here… wait. I can get him. Just get him to the edge of the bed." Vala and Daniel managed to get him upright on the edge just before Mitchell put his shoulder to Tomin's stomach and lifted him up over his shoulder.

Tomin groaned fully then.

"Sorry, buddy. This is the fastest way to get you out of here," Mitchell said, grunting as he stood up. "Don't forget to grab the staff weapon," he told Daniel.

Daniel picked up the weapon off the floor and hesitated. He looked up at Mitchell. "Is he going to be able to use it?"

He paused and looked at Daniel unhappily.

"Can you use it?" Vala asked Daniel.

Daniel looked at her in surprise. "I don't know."

She looked at him with wide eyes. "You were a prior once. If Tomin could use it, why couldn't you? It's only a soldier's staff weapon."

Mitchell and Daniel exchanged a look. Finally Mitchell shrugged, "Good point, let's go." He walked out of the room leaving Daniel and Vala alone.

Daniel looked over at Vala. She read his expression, moved so that she was standing in front of him, and looking up at him, she slid her hand over his closed fist. He looked down as she opened his hand to thread her fingers in his.

"Take me home?" she pressed quietly.

He tightened his grip on hers, staring at her a moment more before he finally, slowly tugged her away from the room where he watched her die for the second time.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

"I'm very interested in seeing how you plan to get us out of here," Vala commented to Mitchell just outside the main stairwell to the first floor.

"Yeah, you and me both."

They were waiting while Daniel pointed his zat weapon into the main stairwell to ensure their path of escape was clear. While they hadn't come across any priors or Ori soldiers so far, it by no means indicated they were safe, as Vala knew first hand from her own failures at attempting escape during the past few days.

Daniel returned to the doorway and nodded, indicating it was clear. Mitchell moved in first, Tomin still slung over his shoulder with Vala close behind as Daniel brought up the rear. They moved as quickly as they could down the flights of stairs without so much as a whisper between them. The less attention they gathered no matter how empty the city seemed, the better it seemed for their getaway. However, their attempts at quiet were of little help, when having reached the landing of the fifth level, staff weapons fire exploded through the doorway.

Mitchell swore, ducking to the other side of the doorway while Daniel and Vala held back on the opposite side. A small tour of Ori soldiers were waiting on the other side of the doorway, weapons primed, firing angrily into the stairwell.

Daniel moved to the edge of the door, and as soon as another red blast rushed past his face, he managed a quick turn to engage his zat weapon on two soldiers. Mitchell shortly followed, raising his P-90 and firing off a number of rounds.

Behind the barrier of the wall, as fire from the other side resumed, Mitchell nodded across the open door at Daniel and Vala. "Hey, Jackson. Want to try out that staff weapon. See if it's got any juice left."

Daniel frowned. Vala stepped forward and took his zat from him, making sure her eyes shared the confidence she had in his ability to use the weapon. She didn't wait for his reaction to her encouragement before turning away and squatting down in the doorway to focus her attention on the Ori soldiers' weapons fire.

She leaned up against the doorframe and as soon as there was a pause, she leaned forward and let loose a few zats of her own. Mitchell followed her lead turning his weapon out into the hallway as soon as she returned to her cover.

She felt Daniel settle in his stance behind her as staff-fire continued to flash between the stairwell and the fifth floor. She could sense him testing out the grip in his hands as he raised it into position.

Wood splintered as a blast rocked the doorframe near Mitchell's face. He reeled back as Vala jumped into the doorway and took down the Ori soldier responsible for the shot. She returned immediately to her place behind the wall as weapons fire followed her, scorching the wall of steps behind her.

She looked up. Daniel's face was furrowed in concentration as he quickly took the opportunity to move into the open doorway. Without hesitation, fire erupted from the weapon into the group of Ori soldiers. They scattered back into their cover behind the open doorways of the hall, but not before he managed to fire once again and take out the two soldiers who hadn't found the safety of a doorway.

Vala looked up appreciatively as he moved back behind her. He looked down and matched her appreciation with a brief, but warm smile before more angry blasts whizzed behind her head. Her attention appropriately returning to the precariousness of their situation, she leaned back out into the open doorway. The blue electrical surge of her zat hit one of the soldiers hidden behind another.

"As much as I love a good firefight…" Mitchell said after a few more minutes of weapons exchange, "they may soon wake up and realize they should be sending soldiers up through stairwell, and then we'll be sitting ducks. We need to get out of here."

He waved Vala and Daniel over so they could get moving. Daniel nodded for Vala to go first. He covered her with his staff weapon as she scurried past the doorway under the fire racing overhead. Daniel soon followed and managed to go untouched.

Thankfully the soldiers hadn't been quick enough to block them off in the stairwell, but as they emerged onto the first floor they could hear the Ori soldiers above them, tracking their path.

Mitchell continued to lead the way back to the entrance where they had first arrived. Just as they turned the corner, more weapons fire erupted behind them. Daniel paused at the corner of the turn and directed his weapon on the crowd of soldiers now following them.

Vala was on pace with Mitchell, but paused when she realized Daniel was no longer with them. She couldn't contain the immediate panic she felt when she didn't see him. But only a second later he appeared moving around the corner after them at a slightly faster pace than he had before. He waved aggressively for her to go ahead. She didn't. She waited.

Then she saw why Daniel was moving so quick. Behind him was not only a larger pack of Ori soldiers, but at the back was an Ori prior. Or more to the point, it was the Doci, whom she had only met once during one of her visits with Adria before she had been burned to death the third time. While she knew little about him, she knew he was not one to be toyed with and that he was far more powerful than a prior. In his pale, white and gold robes, his movements were smooth and unflustered, but the pace at which he was moving was more frightening an image than she ever imagined.

She stood for a moment frozen by the sight. Daniel caught up and grabbed her, yanking her quickly out of her daze and moved her into a full-blown run.

They quickly caught up to Mitchell who couldn't move as fast with Tomin's extra weight. He saw their expressions as they reached the main entrance. "What is it?"

"The Doci," Daniel replied, gasping for air.

"Okay, I don't know if I remember much about that guy, but I have a feeling that having him nearby is not good."

"No."

"Imagine a man with the power equaling that of ten Ori priors," Vala further elaborated as they moved out of the city's entrance and into open air.

"Yeah, okay, not good," Mitchell confirmed, staring out into the open plains of Celestis. "Do we remember where the rings dropped us off?"

"Sort of," Daniel said, looking behind them as they continued to distance themselves away from the city.

Mitchell gave him a look. "Well, sort of. That's something, I guess."

Vala kept looking back too as they tried to keep their quick pace away from the city. She waited for soldiers to erupt from the un-gated entrance. They didn't. Everything behind them had gone eerily quiet.

Mitchell paused, exhaustion clearly having an effect, and looked back. "Where are they?" Then he noticed the Ori ship was gone. "And where is Adria's ship?"

Daniel looked up. The sky above the city was empty. No looming shadows covered the city in darkness. Now the city could gleam as the brightness of the hazy sun lit its shiny features. He glanced over at Vala, his eyes filled with unease.

She matched his gaze. "She knows about Hira. She must be on her way to our galaxy for the final battle."

Mitchell frowned. "So what?" He looked back at the quiet city. Any sign that they had been given a chase was completely erased. "They let us go because they know we have no galaxy to go back to?"

"We don't matter now. They think we've lost," Vala said softly, a heavy anguish filling her heart.

"Then they don't know us very well."

She looked up. Daniel was looking back at her and Mitchell with resolve.

"We haven't lost. There's still time."

"Let's go then," Mitchell said adjusting his hold on Tomin, who was currently unconscious. "No reason to wait around for the Ori soldiers to change their minds about letting us go back to our destroyed galaxy."

After a few minutes of searching, Daniel found the platform waiting for them, under the marshy grass. Mitchell stepped within the rings of the platform. Daniel pulled Vala to his side. Setting the staff in the grass, he bowed his head and concentrated.

It was then Vala noticed him. The Doci. Alone. Walking from the entrance. Even his small form in the distance exuded malice and power. She imagined his cloudy eyes focusing on her.

She tightened her grip on Daniel's arm just as the rings activated around them. Daniel looked down. He never saw the Doci's smile as Vala did nor did he get the chill she felt just before the rings gathered them up into the matter stream. He only tightened his hold on her.

She looked up. She saw relief in his eyes again. She only wished her eyes could reflect the same feeling.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20 

The air boomed as another explosion rocked the city. After a few moments of quiet following the blast, the room shook. It had been nearly four hours since the assault on the planet had begun. All sounds indicated the city was surrendering. Without weapons, ships, or a population to launch a defense, Hira could only wait patiently for its coming ruin.

Teal'c ignored the torrent of destruction around them. He held his current position in the gateroom. A few feet away, SG2 had just finished evacuating the rest of the teams, the medical staff, and their patients to the gamma site. Only SG2, Dr. Lee, his science team, Dr. Lam, and Jonas Quinn remained.

Hours before, SG2 and three other teams had worked alongside Teal'c, searching the city for a portal that might be home to the mysterious key Daniel Jackson had found days before. Their search to ascertain the location of the door found no conclusion as the sounds of the attack from above interrupted their plans. Immediately, Teal'c ordered that the teams return to the gate. He had intended Jonas Quinn to be included in this departure only to find when he returned, that the younger, previously injured man had committed himself to another assignment.

Head wrapped in medical tape and gauze, Jonas Quinn had removed himself from the wheelchair he had arrived in and was on his knees attempting to manually interface an SGC computer into the panel of control crystals on the wall opposite the gate. Dr. Lam stood a distance away in apparent exasperation, helpless to halt the man's activities. She informed Teal'c that after speaking with a few members of Dr. Lee's team, Jonas believed he could help establish a connection between the wall console in the gateroom and the remaining energy in the city's ZPMs, which Dr. Lee's team was trying to extract.

In the hours following, and in spite of the constant radio communication kept with Dr. Lee, Jonas continued to be unable to create a link. He seemed unbothered by his physical injuries, but his frustration grew more apparent. Teal'c did not attempt to interrupt or remove him from his location. Staying and watching Jonas work served his intent to wait for Colonel Mitchell, Daniel Jackson, and Tomin to return.

"How much longer before this building is structurally unsafe?" Dr. Lam asked, stepping to Teal'c's side, her eyes trained on the dust falling from the ceiling.

"I am uncertain," Teal'c replied.

Dr. Lam sighed. "They're getting closer. It won't be long before the Ori realize we're in here."

The building shook again following another distant blast. He looked up as a new layer of dirt and dust drifted down. "Indeed," he could not help but agree. He knew there was little time left for him to wait. He understood his friends wouldn't want him to put the lives of others in danger to simply wait for them. But he believed there still to be a window of opportunity where they might still return.

"What is the status of Jonas Quinn's injuries?"

Dr. Lam crossed her arms over her chest in mild frustration. "I have no idea. He shouldn't be able to do what he's doing. He was only in a medically-induced coma two days ago. He shouldn't be healing this quickly."

"Could the Goa'uld Nirrti's experiments be responsible for his extraordinary ability to heal?"

She frowned, watching as her patient continued to tinker with the equipment at the console. "I don't think so. We haven't seen anything to indicate he's suffering from some sort of medical device or any alteration in his physiology that she might have imposed on him. I think our earlier assumptions were correct. I think his people's DNA, even though there are very few differences from ours, may have evolved to have more rapid healing properties."

"Are you certain you would not like to gate to the gamma site, Dr. Lam? I will take responsibility for Jonas Quinn's evacuation."

"No, I would rather keep an eye on him. In case something does happen and I'm needed." She looked up and saw Teal'c's expression. "There isn't anywhere to go in the galaxy where the threat we're facing isn't just as close or worse. I am probably as safe here as I would be anywhere else."

He simply nodded in acceptance.

Another blast in the distance caused the building to pitch and sway again. Dr. Lam sighed when the structure settled back into its foundation and looked back at the panel Jonas was working on. "A naquadah generator won't work?"

"According to Dr. Lee, only devices built as separate entities from the city, such as the ring transport, can be given power from a naquadah generator."

"And the likelihood of getting the ZPMs to work?"

Teal'c would not have been able to answer her question, but just then they felt a low buzz under their feet. The small lights built into the walls surrounding them suddenly lit, giving the gateroom a softer glow from the harsh fluorescent lights SG2 had set up around the room.

Jonas jumped from his knees to his feet as he looked around the room in excitement. He tapped into his radio. "Dr. Lee, I don't know what you did, but we have it. The gateroom has power."

He moved to the closest window in the hallway. Night had fallen, only the light of weapons fire and burning buildings in the distance showed any signs of activity on this dark moonless planet. No other buildings appeared to exhibit the same power.

"The gateroom has power?" Dr. Lee's voice repeated over the radio in a excited tone. He didn't shut off the microphone on his radio as he made the exuberant announcement to his fellow scientists. "Did you hear that everyone? The gateroom has power. We have light."

"It's flickering, but it's something," Jonas murmured to himself, returning to the station in front of the control panel, watching the lights waver. He gave the room one more half-glance before focusing his attention back to his laptop computer.

Dr. Lee continued his exuberant chatter on the other end of the radio. "Of course, the residual power through the zero point modules is only enough to power up the gateroom floor and the floor below in this building. And we haven't determined yet how long it will last before the remaining residuals are lost. I only hope we haven't shown the Ori ships our location."

Jonas frowned at the thought. "Yeah, that wouldn't be good," he quipped as he attached a few more wires to his computer. He continued to speak, as if to himself. "Though they probably know we're already here and are just playing with us." He looked up feeling the eyes of Teal'c and Dr. Lam on him. He looked embarrassed. "Sorry. I've gotten a little pessimistic in my time living under the Ori occupation."

Another boom, closer sounding, shook the room and distracted Jonas from his gaze. He looked up uneasily for a moment before returning his attention back to the screen and the immediacy of their situation. "Hold on while I try to access the Ancient mainframe," he said into his radio, the purple bruises on his face from his previous injuries hidden in the glow of the blue screen.

Teal'c moved closer, looking down at the numerical, computer language scrolling across and down the screen. He understood little of it, but he had no doubt it played an important role in what Jonas Quinn hoped to accomplish.

"I did not realize, Jonas Quinn, you were so familiar with Ancient technology," Teal'c commented, unable to hide his curiosity at the man's aptitude.

Jonas looked up and half-grinned. "I guess all that time I spent with Carter and looking through Dr. Jackson's books kind of stuck." Teal'c smiled slightly. He could see the younger man reliving the fond memories in his mind. Finally Jonas looked back at his screen. "Details, patterns… it all kind of sticks. The Ori helped too. While I hated their presence on our planet, they did provide access to new technologies for me to study. It isn't altogether different from this stuff."

Dr. Lam had moved closer too. She was studying the screen as well. "What do you hope to find?"

Jonas scratched the back of his head thoughtfully before giving her a quick glance. "The portal to this Ancient key everyone's been talking about. There may be information about how it's used, where the portal is located, what its purpose is... Or anything else that might help us against the Ori."

"If it is a cloaking device, do you anticipate we will be able to activate it?"

Jonas blew out air. "I don't know, Teal'c. Your guess is as good as mine."

Just then Teal'c's radio crackled to life. "Teal'c. Buddy. You read me?"

Teal'c straightened and took a step back from Jonas Quinn's monitor. "Colonel Mitchell," he responded, pressing his hand to his radio.

"Teal'c!" Mitchell's voice was filled with relief. "Man, it's good to hear your voice. I've been trying to get a hold of you for the past half hour."

"I am here, Colonel Mitchell."

"Yeah, now. There must be some interference with all this activity going on out here. How long have you been under attack?

"The assault began shortly after you left. The damage to the city has been considerable. We have been lucky to experience little of it here. However, in the past hour, we do believe weapons fire to have moved closer."

"No kidding. It feels like they're right on top of us. The building where the rings were located was leveled just after we lef-" Static interrupted anything else he had intended to say. Moments later his voice returned. "What's the status of the gate?"

"The gate is ready for evacuation. Most have been vacated." He watched as Jonas straightened at something in front of him. Dr. Lam leaned over in anticipation. Both were ignoring Teal'c's radio conversation. Whatever had been found on the screen held their rapt attention.

"Did you find the door?"

"No, we were unsuccessful in locating the portal. But Jonas Quinn is currently searching the Ancient database to find anything that might pertain to Daniel Jackson's artifact."

"Jonas... He still there?"

"Dr. Lam believes his DNA contains exceptional healing properties."

"Well, tell him to keep searching for something. We need anything we can get." Mitchell's voice erupted in static again, before returning a moment later. "Since he's there, is it safe to assume Carolyn is around?"

Dr. Lam looked up. Teal'c caught her look. "You would be correct, Colonel Mitchell."

"Would you tell her she's going to need to get her med kit ready? We got a burn victim."

Teal'c hesitated a moment before replying, unease making itself apparent within him. "Have you found Vala Mal Doran?"

Jonas looked up, his eyes bright with concern. Hearing her name, he quickly made the assumption Teal'c had made.

"Yeah, we did. But she's all right. It isn't her. It's Tomin."

Jonas's eyes widened in surprise, as did Dr. Lam's before she shook her head in disbelief and hurried away to retrieve her medical equipment.

"He's in bad shape," Mitchell elaborated.

Teal'c looked back at Jonas. "Are you in need of assistance, Colonel Mitchell?"

"Uh, yeah…that would help. I'm getting a little tired of lugging him around."

Teal'c moved away from Jonas and motioned SG2 from the gate. "What is your position?"

"We just passed the cement park, moving west. We can see the tower from here. Hey, is that you all lit up on the thirtieth floor?"

"Dr. Lee was able to establish power for this floor and the one below it using the residual energy stored in the city's ZPMs."

"I knew we kept him around for a reason," Mitchell commented.

Teal'c turned to the SG team members behind him waiting for orders. "Two of you will need to stay behind and guard the gate, the other two will accompany me to retrieve Colonel Mitchell and Daniel Jackson." Then he turned his attention back to his radio. "We are on our way, Colonel Mitchell."

"Looking forward to it," Mitchell replied before the radio went quiet.

Teal'c grabbed his weapon and attached it to his waist. "We will return shortly," he announced to his friends. Dr. Lam didn't reply. She was busy readying her medical supplies and equipment for Tomin's arrival. But Jonas stepped forward.

"Teal'c."

Teal'c hesitated looked over at the younger man expectantly.

He didn't respond right away. Jonas seemed to be searching for the right words, as his eyes flashed with anxiousness.

Reading his eyes, Teal'c raised a brow. "Have you discovered something, Jonas Quinn?"

He nodded. "The Ancient database. It proves that Dr. Jackson's theory about the artifact being a cloaking device is correct."

"Does it identify the portal?"

"No. I haven't found that yet," he said, moving back to the console and retrieving his laptop. Teal'c followed him. "But it does explain how the cloaking device works."

His eyes scanned the screen for a moment before he touched the beginning of a new line of Ancient text with his fingers. He read aloud the text as his fingers followed along. "Here's where it starts…The key is inserted into a 'porta' or a door that unlocks the cloaking device. Once the door is activated, the cloak expands. It expands to include the city, the planet, and …" He looked up, his eyes growing brighter with excitement. "Here's the most incredible part. It expands beyond this planet to include other planets, the entirety of this solar system, and even beyond that." Jonas grabbed the unusual disc shaped artifact that had been on the minds of many in the past week and raised it up for emphasis. "Teal'c, this key is not only a planetary cloaking device. It can cloak an entire galaxy."

Teal'c straightened in surprise.

Jonas continued, unable to hide his enthusiasm. "All of those stories told by the Ancients, the Alterrans, and the Ori in Dr. Jackson's notes? They refer to the secret city. The 'Uban Lacun.' The city where all those who are 'blind to Origin' reside. We are that city that the Ancients hid away in the stars to protect from the hawks. We are that city Oman was looking for in the book of Origin that was blind to Origin. We are, our galaxy is… the 'City of the Lost' and this key is the final step to keeping the Ori from coming through our gates."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

The hum of Ori weapon beams resonated deafeningly around them. It continued until the impending sound of demolition followed. In the darkness of night, its light and destruction lit up the sky the same as if the sun were shining.

It was like watching a little kid try to kill an ant with a magnifying glass, Cam imagined. Death was inevitable. The Ori ships were only mocking them by hitting the patches of buildings around them. At some point they might actually find their target.

"How much farther?" Vala's voice sounded to the left of him.

Cam looked over at her. She was keeping pace, but he could see exhaustion taking hold. She was barely holding up. Her pale face fighting to keep from grimacing with nearly every step she took. Looking at Jackson, who was right by her side, Cam saw his concern mirrored in his friend's expression.

"It will only be a matter of minutes," Teal'c tried to reassure from behind.

Teal'c had caught up with them nearly fifteen minutes before, taking the burden of Tomin's weight off Cam and placing him in a makeshift stretcher he helped the other SG members to carry. He had also explained their current situation at the gate and what Jonas had discovered. At the time the attack had settled down and Teal'c had a captive audience without interruption. He had been able to easily face Jackson's wide eyes and answer his firestorm of questions.

It was only within the last few minutes that the onslaught of weapon's fire had really returned. The sky raged with fire and the sound of Ori ships in the distance destroying everything in their path had kept conversation at a minimum.

Just then one of the three Ori ships that had taken residence above the city flew overhead, engines roaring as its weapons opened up and sounded on the buildings directly to the east of them. Rock and mortar surged following the explosion, giving cause for each of them to drop to their knees or duck as heavy debris scattered overhead like weightless birds.

Once the dust and dirt settled, Cam stood up. "I'm getting tired of this."

Jackson grunted in return, helping Vala to her feet.

"The tower entrance is just over that wreckage," Teal'c directed, moving ahead with two other members of an SG team close behind him.

Cam sighed and waved Vala and Jackson to jog ahead so he could take the rear. His back to his friends, he slowly retreated towards the tower, his eyes struck by the destruction they were leaving behind.

Once they reached the entrance to the building, he hesitated, unable to stop himself from watching the scene before him in amazement. It was like watching Orson Well's _War of the Worlds _only without the long tentacle'd alien ships. Instead, they had Ori ships buzzing like flies above the city in the not so far distance…the smoke and dusty debris lit up by the fires that ravaged what was left of the city. Who would have thought a city once so stout and advanced as this one could have come to this end? Cam could only watch in disbelief as the once proud city burned.

Minutes later it took Jackson's shout to realize he had stopped his retreat completely. He turned around and looked up to find Jackson and Vala waiting for him at the top of the second stairwell looking down at him. He quickly lifted his weapon to his chest and ran to catch up.

"You all right," Jackson asked, looking at him curiously when he had reached the second landing.

"It's just a damn shame," Cam said as he hoofed it up the stairs urging them to continue.

"Yeah," Jackson replied, matching his pace. "Don't I know it."

"Yeah, another Daniel Disneyland in ruins."

Daniel almost smirked, but didn't reply. He refocused his attention on Vala as she attempted to put what was left of her energy into climbing the stairs.

The rest of the trip up the thirty flights of stairs were quiet. Only the huffing and puffing of their breath and the sounds of their footsteps indicated they were exerting energy. The last ten flights, Cam and Daniel each had an arm wrapped under Vala's weak form as they helped her continue up the stairs on her feet.

When he reached the thirtieth floor, Cam unhooked himself from Vala. She let go of him and waited for Jackson to come around and attend to her more fully. Cam left the two of them alone in the hall while he went to check on Tomin.

He found Carolyn hovering over Tomin near the ramp at the gate. She looked up sensing his presence behind her. "We need to get him to the gamma site. I don't have the medical equipment needed to care for him here. His condition is critical. He's barely breathing. I don't know how long I can sustain him under these circumstances."

Cam looked over at his teammate. Teal'c didn't need to be told. He understood and with a slight nod, he moved to the DHD and began punching in the gate address to the gamma site.

"Hey, Jonas," Cam called across the room. [

Jonas, who had seen Vala being half carried into the temple, had rushed to her side to help. He was helping Jackson make a path for her when he looked up, hearing his name.

"It's good to see you up and moving again," Cam said with a nod.

Jonas nodded appreciatively. "Thank you, Colonel," he said as he helped Vala sit on one of the equipment boxes.

"Have you found the port for the key yet?" Jackson asked Jonas once Vala was sitting comfortably.

"No… maybe you can help with that…your background in Ancient is much stronger than mine." Jonas moved back towards his computer monitor, while Daniel stepped away from Vala and followed.

Once Jackson had a clear view from behind him, Jonas looked up from his monitor. "I've been having a hard time deciphering the text here…it's more symbolic and abstract than figurative…"

The room suddenly shook violently, the whole floor beneath them seeming to sway. "That was close," Jackson commented, looking up at the ceiling.

The room pitched again in another violent shudder, the blasts outside nearly on top of them. Everyone looked around at each other nervously.

"I will retrieve Dr. Lee and his team," Teal'c offered just as the wormhole jettisoned out of the gate in an explosion of blue before settling back into a stable glowing pool. The two members of SG2 who had stayed back helped Dr. Lam prepare Tomin for evacuation. The other two followed to Teal'c to retrieve the astrophysicists.

Cam nodded at Teal'c as he left the room to go bring back Dr. Lee.

Cam looked over at Daniel whose attention was back on the monitor in front of him. His brows were furrowed as he read the screen Jonas had pointed out to him. "Jackson," he called.

He ignored him. Jackson was too focused on the Ancient database.

Cam sighed and started to walk over. "Look, I know we want this artifact to work, but we can't waste time with it anymore…we got to get out of here." The building shook again, its walls starting to cry out in discomfort.

Jackson put his hand up. "I think Jonas may have found something…" His face took held a look of rapt fascination as he studied the blue screen in front of them.

"Colonel Mitchell," Carolyn interrupted from behind him. "We're going."

Cam turned around, Carolyn easily distracting his attention from Jackson and the Ancient database. Tomin was waiting on the bottom of the ramp on the makeshift stretcher. He nodded at her. "We'll be right behind you."

She frowned and looked over at Jonas. She turned her gaze back to Cam and gave him a look. "I expect him returned to me in one piece."

Cam nodded. "I'll take care of it."

She raised her brows. "You better." She backed away, maintaining her eye lock with him until she was at the ramp. Then she broke her gaze and turned her attention back to Tomin. She nodded at the SG team members, cueing them to leave. They followed her directive and evacuated through the gate. She followed them out without another glance in Cam's direction.

"Daniel, what is it?"

Cam's ears heard the catch in Vala's voice. He quickly turned back to see what had caught her attention.

Jackson was still in front of the computer screen next to Jonas, but his posture had stiffened. He turned a dazed look on Vala. "It's an address."

Cam stepped forward as Vala sat up a little straighter. "What is?" he asked.

Jackson's eyes detoured to him for a moment. "The symbols on the artifact. They're an address." His gaze drifted off into space, consumed in his own thoughts. "That's why I couldn't identify them. The point of reference is completely different. The constellations are completely different."

"Daniel," Vala interrupted, her tone anxious. "A gate address?"

He focused his gaze back on Vala and shook his head. "No. Not so much a gate address, but a galactic address."

"A galactic address," Cam repeated, dumbly taking another step forward.

Jackson nodded, his eyes illuminating. "I didn't recognize the symbols before because they're based on a whole different star chart. One beyond our galaxy or the Pegasus galaxy or the Ori galaxy."

"Like a chart that maps all of the galaxies," Vala clarified slowly.

"Our gate system has always been based on the constellations within our own galaxy, which is why travel from our stargate to other galaxies has been so difficult," Jackson elaborated, a smile he reserved only for new knowledge starting to emerge. "But this…this is completely different."

"So what are you saying? We can travel to other galaxies with this galactic address?" Cam said, trying to simplify the explanation.

"Not exactly," Jackson said. "It's probably just a set of coordinates identifying our location in the universe."

"Why is this so important?" Vala pressed, looking from Daniel to Jonas.

Jonas seemed mildly surprised to have been addressed. When Jackson turned his eyes on him as well, Jonas tried to explain. "Well, according to this," Jonas looked back at the monitor, "these coordinates, or this galactic address, as Dr. Jackson called it, has access to all the stargates in our galaxy. It's like a circuit breaker of sorts. It can activate all the stargates at once."

"Like on Dakara," Cam said slowly.

"Yes," Jackson replied. "Only we don't have to reconfigure the stargate to reach multiple addresses. The key does that."

"So the Ancients may be more spread out into the universe than we ever thought," Vala's voice was thoughtful.

"Or it may mean there is an even more powerful civilization out there who taught the Ancients everything they know," Jackson said, cocking his head to the side.

"Ok, whoa, hold up there, sunshine," Cam said, waving his hands around as he moved into the circle of the conversation. "Let's stop theorizing on things that don't apply to this very moment. Does all this means in the scope of right now? What is that galactic address doing on our galactic cloaking device-" He froze as realization sank in.

Jackson started to grin seeing Cam's expression.

"That's it, isn't it? Just like on Dakara…" Cam said, staring back at Jackson wide-eyed. "The door. It's the stargate."

Vala looked around at them in annoyance when no one immediately elaborated. "Want to clarify for the only girl in the room?"

"The stargate is the door we've been looking for," Jackson gazed down at her with a smile. "It's what activates the cloaking device. Once we find the place to insert this," he said, taking the artifact from Jonas and lifting it up, his eyes searched the room as he stood up and continued, "we can cloak all the planets in our galaxy that have a working gate."

"The Ancients created this?" she asked, staring at the artifact.

"It was their second line of defense if the Ori ever discovered us."

Vala scrunched her face up thoughtfully as if remembering. "So the artifact is Ancient as in _the Ancients_. Not just ancient as in _old_."

Daniel paused his search and looked back at her for a moment, a smile playing on his lips. "Assuming that the new glyphs don't belong to another civilization beyond the Ancients, then yes, Ancient as in_the Ancients_."

She smirked at him, but then her smile faltered. "This was the device Adria was going to try and destroy."

Daniel's smile disappeared too.

She looked up at the ceiling. "It's why they're here. They know it's here. They have to destroy it before we activate it."

Before Cam could press them into putting the activation part into action, the room suddenly got eerily quiet. A warm breeze prickled his skin as the air grew stagnant and heavy. He didn't need to see the expressions on Vala or Jonas's face to know something was definitely wrong.

Without warning, flames erupted from the ceiling.

"Whoa!" he shouted, trying to duck away as fire rained down. Jackson and Jonas dropped to their haunches in escape. Only Vala remained completely still where she sat on top of a box of equipment, her eyes glued to the ceiling.

Having moved next to Vala, Cam was on his knees looking up at the unbelievable scene above them. "What the_ hell_ is that?" Cam could only watch in wide-eyed shock as a skull emerged from the flames.

Vala's mouth twisted as the fire overhead seemed to congeal and reshape itself over and over again from simple flames to a sadistic, grinning skull. "_That…._ is Adria," she replied simply.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22 

"But hmmm… is it really Adria?" Vala stood up and stepped away from Cam, unbelievably fearless in the face of the horrifying evil hanging over them. Her face was still as stone as she moved closer, staring into the eyes of the flaming skull, unafraid.

Then, very suddenly, Vala turned away from it and searched the room, her stony expression replaced by animated amusement, a mischievous sparkle in her eye. "Where are you?" she unexpectedly sing-songed, bouncing away from the face of flames as if it were a mere mirage. "I know that isn't you, darling…. Come out, come out wherever you are."

Cam watched in disbelief as Vala sashayed around the room searching corners and under equipment. She looked like a mother searching for a small child in a game of 'hide and go seek.'

"I know you're here, darling. Your little laser-light parlor trick isn't fooling anyone," Vala announced to the room. "We know you have no power over us in your ascended form. You're just playing your little games as usual."

The ceiling seethed in flames like it was being fueled by gasoline. But when no one made a move to counter it or reply to it, the fire sizzled to a quick and silent end. Only the trail of scorch marks left behind indicated it had ever been present. Across the room a beautiful female form appeared, dressed richly in black and gold, and crossed the threshold of the temple's gateroom entrance.

Vala's face stretched into one of her performance-bright, white smiles. "Ah, darling, there you are. I knew you were hiding somewhere."

By Adria's expression it was obvious she was not amused by Vala's taunting. She moved slowly into the room, glaring at Vala.

"What? Did you think I hadn't figured it out?" Vala tapped her own temple in response. "Where do you think you inherited your brilliance?"

Vala slowly walked up to the Orici with a smirk she only used on Jackson when she wanted to try his patience. "That lovely fire stunt you presented was quite nice, but honestly, darling, can't we just get to the crux of our little argument. The only power you have against us is what you're able to do with your very little, very human pinky. Now I recognize that this power alone is quite a lot, but I truly don't see the point of the little pre-game show. Any moment now you are only going to have your Ori ships blast us to smithereens and we will be nothing but a pink or peachy particle in the atmosphere."

An irritated blaze lit in Adria's eyes.

Vala raised her brows. She shook her head in motherly admonishment, a clucking noise sounding from her cheek. "Again with the fire. You need a new hobby, my darling."

"You can feign courage all you want, Mother. I know your thoughts."

"Do you?" she said with another smile. She furrowed her brows and looked back at Adria intently. "What am I thinking? Right now."

Adria's face twisted even further.

"Oh, sorry, boys," Vala said, turning around and smiling grandly at them as she waltzed away from the Orici. "Didn't mean to leave you out of the conversation we were having in our heads. But I just told Adria I think she's a viper that I wish I had suffocated at birth…oh and that I know why she's been playing with us. Letting you find me. Letting us escape. All part of the plan. Just like the not killing us part of the plan. Not yet anyway." She turned back and smiled maliciously at the Orici. "We have something she needs."

Adria was silent, her fury loud and clear.

"The clavia," Jackson replied for her, standing up. "We have the key to the 'City of Lost.' The city Oman never found."

Adria replied without hesitation, a slippery smile crossing her features, "I can see you've been keeping up on your literature, Daniel. You are still very much the man I remember."

"Yes, well, the man you remember was an Ancient," Jackson answered in an unaffected tone.

"Yes, Merlin protected you," Adria replied smoothly, moving closer to him. "Yet, I do not imagine he quite enjoyed our time together as much as his host did."

Cam's brows jumped up. He briefly looked over to Vala to see her reaction at the implication. He looked down, biting back a grin. Vala, of course, looked completely nonplussed.

She rolled her eyes as she passed by to stand at Jackson's side. "Oh, Adria, honestly, who wouldn't like spending time together with you?"

"You are getting tiresome, Mother," Adria bit back, her naturally cool exterior cracked by Vala's continual interjections.

"Tiresome, hmmm?" She passed Jackson a smile, stepping back. "Sounds familiar but I don't think I've heard that word in particular used about me. An annoyance, an irritation…hmm…" she raised an eyebrow at Daniel. "Bothersome maybe?"

"A pain in the ass," Jackson added with a smirk, unable to hide his impressed amusement as Vala intrepidly continued to provoke Adria.

Vala cocked her head and nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's true." She turned more fully to face the Orici. "Darling, what do you think? Does-"

Before she could finish, Adria angrily turned her head and Vala was snapped forward across the room towards the wall near the exit. Both Jackson and Cam jumped to her defense, but Jackson was quickly thrown back into Jonas and Cam was physically picked up and tossed in the opposite direction, crashing into the DHD twenty-five feet back.

Cam shook his head, taking a moment to clear away the flying yellow birdies. When he did, his cleared eyes settled on the scene across the room. Jackson was on the ground, glaring angrily up at Adria. Jonas had just moved out from underneath him and had grabbed something from behind his back. It looked like Jonas had snagged the artifact. Jackson had passed it to him and now Jonas was trying to inconspicuously slip it into his pocket.

Cam looked across the room to where Vala lay. She was starting to sit up, but slowly, holding her hand to her head. He watched as she removed her hand and stared at it. Even from this distance he could see her palm was covered in blood.

Cam's stomach clenched, but he could do nothing. He knew that there was no way for him to get over to her without getting caught by Adria, no matter how much Jackson was able to distract her.

Vala placed the heel of her palm back to her head and flinched. He watched her turn her attention to take in the scene. Her face tightened when she saw Adria standing over Daniel. Then she caught Cam's worried stare.

"Where is the artifact?" Adria demanded, her question pointed at Jackson.

He only returned her steely glare silently.

"I think that if you would like to see my mother live, you will answer my questions."

"You mean live after you burn her a few more times? No thanks. You're only going to destroy us and our civilization in the end anyway. I hardly see how the immediate moment matters."

"That may be true, but I can assure you I will make it slow and painful for her. And I am sure it will be just as painful to watch. Or…" Jackson suddenly rose, lifted to his knees by unseen hands. His face tightened in a grimace, "I could just kill _you_ slowly and make her watch. I suppose I would have to decide who might break more easily in the presence of their dying and tortured loved one," she finished in tight hostility.

"Jeez, Jackson. What is it with you and your ability to attract all the evil ones? You're like an evil chic magnet," Cam grunted as he stood up. He hoped his attempt to distract Adria would give the rest of them time to come up with a plan, because clearly this plan of diversion was probably not the best one he'd ever come up with.

"It's a gift," Jackson managed to squeeze out past the hand holding him up by the throat.

Adria glared over at Cam. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Vala was still trying to slowly get back on her feet across the room.

"Come on, sweetheart, aren't you a little young to be so bitter?" Cam commented, rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head. Seeing her expression of annoyed disbelief that he would even think to interrupt, Cam dropped his hand and leveled his gaze on her. "What are you? Two years old? Is this what they mean about the terrible twos?"

"I have little interest in you," she said curtly, shooting him another glare. Then she turned her attention back to Jackson. Before Cam could return the compliment he was air-born again, slammed back into the DHD for the second time.

Cam groaned. What was it with her! Hadn't he been airborn enough? He touched the goose-egg that had evolved into a tenderized baseball-sized bump. In the cloud of pain, he tried to listen as Adria endeavored to engage Jackson in conversation again.

"We always wondered how your galaxy had been kept such a secret from us," she began, staring up at Daniel who was now hovering a few feet from the ground.

Jackson was silent. He had little opportunity not to be, what with the tight grip around his neck.

"It was only through my mother that we discovered our ignorance." Adria cocked her head thoughtfully. "Though she didn't realize it, we recognized it in her memories of this planet and that piece of children's literature. The image of the Ancient artifact sitting alone in the recesses of her mind, waiting to remind us of its purposes."

Her dark gaze dropped to the floor as she grew consumed by her own thoughts. "The scientific minds of our people had been trying to create a galactic cloaking device before their decision to depart from our galaxy. At the time we didn't realize its objective. We believed it to be a weapon of defense against our common enemies. We only discovered later, following their departure, that we were betrayed."

"It's interesting. Hearing the word betrayal come from your lips," Jackson gritted out.

She smiled. "Is it? Why? Because it is a familiar path for us? Because we are constantly met with betrayal by those whom we trust and love most? Our own people, my mother… you."

"No. Because you have betrayed your own teachings," Jackson barely replied as the grip on his throat seemed to have tightened. "Because you have betrayed your own people. Power has manipulated your original intentions and words. Your people now suffer."

"Our people our strong," she snapped. "Their belief makes them strong."

"Their belief makes them weak and submissive," Jonas countered quietly in Jackson's defense. "Only the word of Origin makes them strong. And you do not represent the word of Origin. I'm under the impression, you haven't for a long time."

She turned a steady gaze on Jonas.

"You only offer them death in return for their loyalty," he finished with a quiet flare of anger erupting in his voice.

Jackson grunted as he was abruptly dropped. Adria stepped around him, her attention fully on Jonas now. Her eyes sparked with interest. "Where is it?"

Jonas managed to remain unmoved, his brows lifting up at her. "Sorry?"

"You have the key," she informed him, a frightening coldness seeping into her tone.

"I don't know what you-" Jonas's voice unexpectedly ended. His eyes bulged as Adria gave him the same attention she had given Jackson only moments before.

But before she could further her inquiry, Vala was on her feet and barreling into Adria from behind. Adria remained untouched as her shield activated and sent Vala stumbling back; however, Jonas fell to the ground while Adria was distracted. The artifact fell clumsily out of Jonas's pocket and slid across the floor in Cam's direction.

Vala struggled to her feet but an invisible force sent her flying again, knocking her into the console Jonas had been working at. She struggled to sit up and Jackson tried to reach her, but there was little he could do. Still on the ground after his interrogation with Adria, he was now clearly under her power again. He could only watch, his face etched in sick dread as more blood leaked out of Vala's cut and dripped down the side of her face.

Her eyes big and unflinching, Vala didn't look in Jackson's direction. She only stared angrily up at Adria, who had moved to stand over her.

"Always to the rescue," Adria said smoothly, though her compliment was dark. "A heroine of the highest order. The sacrificial lamb."

Vala straightened under Adria's malevolent stare. Lifting her chin, she leveled her gaze unwaveringly back at the Orici.

Adria's smile widened. "Putting on a brave front again, are we?" She looked over at Jackson. "It may be because she's so familiar with what comes next."

Jackson turned determined eyes on Vala. "Fight her," he ordered.

Vala pressed her lips together and looked back at him, the tone of his voice making something in her eyes flicker.

"Vala," he said, trying to keep his voice firm. "You can fight her."

She attempted to convince him with one of her valiant smiles that said he didn't need to worry about her, but in the end, it wobbled.

Jackson saw the hesitation. "Don't let her do this to you again!" he gritted out.

She swallowed and looked up at Adria.

"Vala," Jackson's voice turned ragged. He, like Cam, had seen the defeated look in her eyes.

Cam watched the scene feeling the impending doom. Time was running out. He had to do something. His eyes locked on the artifact. If only he knew where the portal was.

He had started to search the room in desperation, when a strange thought hit him. Cam turned his head and stared at the DHD only inches from his face with wide eyes. It made sense. If the artifact carried coordinates to activate all gated-planets in the galaxy, it would need to be attached to the DHD.

He ducked his head a little and looked underneath. Three short cylinders, each with a diameter about the size of quarter, jutted out from underneath the dialing device. Their size matched the distance and size in the openings of the artifact.

Cam had to fight from giving away his excitement when he turned his look back on Adria and Vala. His exhilaration quickly faded when he saw flames at the bottom of Vala's dress. Simply seeing Jackson's face was enough to get Cam into gear.

He jumped to his feet and skidded across the floor to grab the artifact. Cam didn't notice that his movement had snapped Adria's attention from Vala to him. He didn't see her eyes narrow in confusion and then widen in comprehension as he tried to race back to the DHD. He had the device the Orici wanted, and he had found the portal in the gate the Ancients had built to keep the hawks out of the city.

Cam waited for the impending and invisible force to drag him off his feet, but it never came. Instead unexpected weapons fire ricocheted around the room as he reached the DHD and quickly threw himself under it. Looking up, he saw that Teal'c, Dr. Lee, and his team had arrived and were interrupting Adria's offensive towards Cam from the entrance to the gateroom where she had first arrived.

Too many distractions and Adria released Jackson. Now focused on getting the device from Cam, she also forgot about Vala, but the flames didn't need Adria's guidance. They were racing a torrid path up her frame. Jackson quickly got to his feet and in seconds covered Vala's body with his own, taking them both to the ground as he tried to extinguish the flames.

Cam didn't take a second to watch any further. Artifact in hand, he quickly slipped it into place underneath the DHD just as Adria cried out in fury. He quickly ducked. For a moment, he felt tightness in his body, but it quickly released as the artifact activated almost immediately, sending a violet electrical pulse throughout the room and into the still active gate.

Still in position, he waited. The room was quiet. Only the sound of the active gate behind him hummed.

Cam looked up. Everyone seemed to be in shock, but thankfully still alive. Jonas was staring wide-eyed back at him from his position on the floor. Teal'c stood in the open entryway unafraid, while Dr. Lee and his team hovered behind the doorframe, only their heads poking out tentatively to see what had resulted.

Jackson and Vala were the only ones not attentive to their surroundings. They were too consumed with each other to care. The fire on Vala's dress had thankfully been dismissed to charred fabric and ashes. She seemed to be okay. The precariousness of her situation moments before seemed completely forgotten as Jackson had caught her up in a kiss that was so hot and intense, they could've have started a whole other fire. Understandably neither seemed to immediately care or notice that Adria was still present and standing only inches away from Cam.

Looking up at Adria, Cam didn't hide his unease. However, his anxiety began to fade as it became apparent that Adria was not looking at him, nor was she exuding an expression of triumph. The only one graced with an up close visual, only Cam got to see her muted astonishment as she walked slowly up to the DHD.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Daniel sighed into her mouth. Kissing Vala felt like he had ascended, again. Everything around him was a fog. He could only feel her, beneath him, kissing him back with an enthusiasm that made his blood race.

The minute he had seen the flames go out at her feet and her lively blue-gray eyes staring back at him, he had immediately dropped his mouth on her with such force he was amazed he hadn't crushed her. But at the moment he couldn't have expressed his emotions any other way. He'd been putting it off for too long as it was and to think she had been willing to give this up? The fear, the anger, the hurt, and more importantly the overwhelming love that burned his senses seeing her alive again beneath him… He could only show her what she would've missed if she hadn't survived.

His anger lessened almost immediately when her soft mouth returned the favor. Her mouth gentle and seeking, she met every kiss with equal passion and fervor. She didn't make any attempts to take over. She simply let him lead as he consumed her.

"Jackson," Mitchell's terse voice interrupted.

Daniel paused, his mouth frozen on hers. She opened her eyes and looked back at him, her passion stilled, but her face flushed. Blood was still seeping from the cut in her head, but it had relaxed its cascade. He slowly lifted his face away and touched her injury to make sure she was all right. Her head nodded slightly indicating she was. He kept his eyes locked with hers, making sure she saw he regretted nothing. She pressed her lips together, tasting him in the process, to make it evident she felt the same.

Daniel took a deep breath and looked over at Cam. Then the realization of their situation hit him.

Mitchell was on the floor underneath the DHD, staring up Adria who was standing above him and staring at the dial home device. Her face was a mask of disbelief and infinite fury.

She raised her hand to the DHD, and in a swift movement it moved through the device as if it were non-corporeal. She scowled before finally walking through the DHD to the stairs where the blue pool of the gate waited. Everyone watched as she easily stepped around and through the gate as if it weren't there. She turned her gaze back to the room, her eyes narrowed, but more importantly unseeing.

"Jackson, she can't see or hear us," Mitchell said as his eyes trailed her progress throughout the room.

"It worked," Jonas breathed getting to his feet.

"Indeed," Teal'c commented entering the room. He waited as Adria slowly stepped through him to see if the hallway was just as empty. Dr. Lee and his team scurried out of the way in a panic, her proximity alone enough to frighten them.

Daniel sat up, pulling Vala up with him. "What happened?"

"Colonel Mitchell discovered the portal," Teal'c replied with an appreciative nod in his direction.

Daniel looked over at him with wide eyes.

Mitchell raised his brows. "It was underneath the DHD. Made sense to look there. It activated almost immediately."

Vala looked over at Daniel. "It explains why only a naquadah source could activate the text on the artifact."

"Does this mean we've cloaked all the gated planets in the galaxy?" Daniel asked.

No one replied. Everyone grew quiet because Adria returned to the room with an even angrier stance.

"Does it only cloak people and gates?" Mitchell asked watching her as her eyes scanned the room in malevolent frustration. "Because she can still walk around in here. And if that's the case, we may still have a problem."

"Prior," Adria's voice sounded, interrupting Mitchell. She stood still in the center of the room, her eyes now locked on the spot where Daniel and Vala had been sitting.

A deep voice replied from within her necklace. "Yes, Orici."

"What is the status of life on this planet?" she asked still staring at Daniel.

The immediate response was silence. Then his voice came back, the tenor unchanged. "Our systems show all life-signs on the planet have been diminished."

"And what of the other systems where our fleet is dispatched?"

Silence. She waited patiently. Though Daniel could see she already knew what the response would be.

His voice once again returned. It was solemn. "We are receiving reports from all over the galaxy. It is the same everywhere, as if all life within this galaxy has vanished."

She fought to contain her anger. "And Earth?"

"The same, Orici."

She stared at Daniel in unadulterated hatred.

"She may not see or hear us," Vala said quietly in his ear, "but she can sense us. She knows we're here."

"Yeah, I got that feeling," he replied, still watching Adria.

After endless minutes of tedious silence, Adria finally took a step back. "Prior, ready my transport." Her eyes still on Daniel, she finished, "Destroy what's left of the city."

Adria didn't bother offering another glance as she turned and slowly walked out of the room leaving them all alone.

Silence followed as they all stared at each other in disbelief.

"Okay, what just happened there? Did we win?" Mitchell asked, getting to his feet and looking around the room in disbelief.

Daniel looked over at him with his own raised brows.

"In our attempt to hide our presence, I believe we have been victorious," Teal'c replied.

Mitchell wiped the dust off his pants and then his shoulders. He looked up and grinned. "All in a day's work-" He paused a moment to rethink his words. "Make that a week's work."

Daniel could feel the warmth of Vala's body behind him as she spoke up. "But as you said, we still don't know how much of the galaxy is cloaked."

Daniel looked back at her briefly before nodding to the group in agreement. "It's unlikely the planets in our galaxy without gates are being cloaked under this device. And if the Ori ships can still destroy our cities, we may still be in for some trouble," Daniel advised, not wanting anyone to get too relaxed. He stood up, pulling Vala to her feet before releasing her.

Mitchell sobered. "Right. I did mention that, didn't I?"

The roar of an engine above reminded them they were still hardly out of trouble. Before anyone could react, the ground reverberated under the impact of a huge nearby detonation.

Everyone's eyes turned to watch through the hallway windows as the neighboring building imploded under the Ori weapon's beam. In only moments, it's exterior split sending rock and steel into the air in its demolition. They all ducked as the windows shattered under the onslaught. The walls around them quaked and rolled as if suffering from a direct attack.

"And there's the looming destruction of the city we were worried about," Vala quipped as the building cried out in portent under their feet.

Jonas nodded. He grabbed his laptop and unhooked it from the Ancient control panel. "Let's get out of here."

Another boom nearby and the room shook even more violently. The ceiling above was starting to crack and hunks of concrete were starting to fall. Even the gate began teetering under the assault.

"Leave it," Mitchell called to Dr. Lee and his team who were attempting to collect their belongings.

Teal'c quickly ushered them away using simple proximity to scare them into dropping their things and moving. Dr. Lee tried to argue, though it hadn't been worth the effort. A single raised eyebrow and a heavy stare from the Jaffa had the doctor of astrophysics stuttering 'okay, okay' and stumbling over himself as he followed his team to the gate. In only moments Teal'c had the scientists evacuated and followed himself. His silence to his teammates indicating he believed they would soon follow.

Mitchell waited at the bottom of the steps. Jonas ran by with Daniel and Vala close behind. Mitchell caught Daniel's arm. Vala paused at the gate when she saw Daniel wasn't at her side.

Mitchell looked up, his eyes on the ceiling that was quickly crumbling now as the sound of the city's destruction had become continuous. "What happens when this city crumbles and buries the gate? Does the artifact lose its effect?"

Daniel shook his head. "I have no idea. We can only hope the Ancients had that in mind when creating the device."

Mitchell's frown matched Daniel's.

"Daniel, Mitchell…" Vala prompted from the gate. She was waiting.

Mitchell waved Daniel ahead. Daniel dropped his head and focused his attention back on Vala. He trotted up the stairs. With Vala at his side, they entered the shimmering wormhole. Mitchell quickly followed, as the temple behind them finally imploded under the duress of an Ori beam burning through its center, bringing an end to an Ancient legacy.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

The SGC briefing room was more full than usual. All four members of SG1 were present. General Landry sat in his large leather chair at the head of the table. Carolyn and Jonas had joined them and were sitting across from each other, Jonas next to Vala, Carolyn next to Mitchell. And Dr. Lee and a few members of his team were sitting at the end of the table opposite of Landry.

Vala sat in her usual spot, next to Daniel. One leg tucked underneath her, she stayed quiet as she slightly turned her chair back and forth in place. SG1 had been back on Earth less than half a day and everyone was recounting their adventures against the Ori and Adria. Everyone except her. Daniel must have spoken to General Landry because little to nothing was asked of her, to which she was eternally grateful.

"So what's the news from the _Odyssey_and the _Daedalus_?" Daniel asked, looking at the general.

"The Ori ships have not retreated from our galaxy." Landry frowned and shook his head. "The _Odyssey_ in fact reported another dozen Ori ships having arrived at 0250 this morning through the Katana supergate."

"And we still have those three Ori ships hovering in our solar system," Mitchell added.

"We had a feeling this was going to happen. Just because they can't see us doesn't mean they don't know we're here," Daniel said, looking across the table at both Mitchell and Teal'c.

"Yeah, Adria made that pretty clear," Mitchell said with a sardonic twist of his mouth. "Thankfully, Hira was the only one we've seen so far that the Ori was able to attack physically, destroying the city. It appears that they can't see the cities or structures on any other planet with an active gate." He frowned thoughtfully and looked at Daniel. "How does that work, by the way?"

Daniel shook his head. "I have no idea. I can only assume that it has to do with the properties of the device. In its creation, Hira wasn't given the same promise of protection."

"Well, let's hope that the Ancient key will hold and keep the galaxy in its cloak," Landry said, leaning back in his chair.

"And let's hope they don't come up with their own device that can counteract the properties of our cloak." Daniel added with a frown.

"Oh, well, that would be nearly impossible," Dr. Lee spoke up from his end of the briefing table. He sat forward his eyes big and his face animated. "They would have to know the galactic star chart configurations and provide a naquadah source that can reverse the pulse of the device's cloaking components, but even then the stabilizers and dialing computer would have to be synchronized. Oh and of course they would have to have the means to mathematically procure-"

"Dr. Lee," Landry interrupted in a tone that indicated the general was hardly in the mood for techno-babble.

Dr. Lee stopped and froze.

"Can they shut off the cloak or not?"

Dr. Lee fumbled his words for a few seconds, before Mitchell finally took over. "Sir, the Ori are ascended beings. I'm sure they can do a whole lot of things. Deactivating the cloak is not out of the realm of possibility."

Landry nodded grimly. "So our efforts against the Ori continue."

"Unfortunately," Mitchell looked at Daniel, "yes."

Daniel frowned. "The galactic cloak does not protect our fleet. Only a ship's individual cloaking device will protect them within deep space."

"And the x-302s?" Mitchell asked.

Landry nodded. "We're advising caution for anyone using the smaller transports without cloaking capabilities. Though I have received reports that if smaller ships stay within the orbit of the cloaked planet, the Ori ships are unable to detect them on their ship scans." He turned his stare back to Dr. Lee. "And our people at Area 51 are working on cloaking devices for our smaller spacecraft."

Dr. Lee nodded in confirmation. "Yes, those modifications should be ready within the next few weeks."

"What about the planets without a gate who have no protection from the Ori?" Jonas asked, a hitch in his voice.

"Our second focus will, of course, be servicing those people without protection," Landry reassured Jonas. "We and our allies are currently outsourcing all available ships to those planets and determining support and possible evacuation procedures for those communities willing and asking for help."

Mitchell sympathized. "We haven't heard anything on Langera?"

"No." Jonas set his mouth grimly. "We haven't been able to make contact. The gate must have been destroyed."

"Which means Langera is unprotected too," Daniel concluded unhappily.

Jonas nodded.

"As soon as the _Daedalus_ returns from the Pegasus Galaxy, we will be dispatching it to Langera with Mr. Quinn aboard," Landry informed the team. "Hopefully we will find signs that the antiestablishment that Mr. Quinn founded is still active on the planet." Landry passed an encouraging look down the table to Jonas. "Perk up, son. Now that we have a means of protection, we'll gladly join you in your planet's efforts against the Ori."

Jonas nodded seeming somewhat consoled. "Thank you, sir."

"Carolyn, how is Tomin?" Vala interrupted quietly, playing with the edges of the tiny bandage that sat just below her hairline at her temple. Vala had visited Tomin earlier in the day, but Carolyn had been off world and Vala hadn't had the opportunity to speak with her about his medical status until now.

Vala could feel Daniel's eyes fall on her for the first time since the start of the debriefing.

Carolyn frowned. "He's healing…slowly," she admitted to everyone around the table. "Much of his body has suffered from second and third degree burns. And while, for the most part, it hasn't interfered with his internal functions, he's in a lot of pain. I doubt he'll ever fully recover, nor will he look as he once did. There's been a lot of damage and while we've done some skin grafting… we won't know for a while how successful it's been." She looked across the table at Teal'c.

Teal'c turned his attention to his teammates. "I have offered Tomin the opportunity to join me on my visit to the free Jaffa planet, Fal'mah." Teal'c turned a conscious gaze on Vala and directed his words to her. "I have invited him to visit with the Herrari priests. They are noted for their abilities to heal external and internal injuries through an unusual type of Kel-no-reem. After speaking with him, he has requested to participate in this practice."

"As soon as Tomin is healthy enough to be on his feet, he has my permission to go," Carolyn said, adding her support. She moved her gaze to her father expectantly.

Landry nodded his acceptance. "He also has mine. I have no doubt, Teal'c, that you can provide him the help he needs.

"And then…what are his plans after the Herrari healers?" Daniel queried curiously.

"I have spoken at length with Tomin," Teal'c said, moving his dark gaze to Daniel's. "I do believe he would like to spend his time following the free Jaffa until he should find an opportunity to return home."

Vala dropped her eyes. This was not news to her. Tomin had already told her of his eventual intentions to go home. She had tried to argue with him, tell him he was only putting himself in danger and that his people wouldn't listen, but her words had fallen on deaf ears.

"He believes the Jaffa history to be quite similar to his own origins," Teal'c elaborated smoothly.

"And he wants to learn how to show his people the Ori are false gods, just like you did," Daniel said with a knowing smile.

Teal'c nodded.

"Yeah," Mitchell nodded, "you got to give the guy credit. He ain't afraid to jump right back in the lion's den."

"They're his people. If it were Earth, we'd do the same."

Vala knew Daniel was right, but it didn't make her any happier to know Tomin would be going back to the Ori galaxy. Tomin loved his people and his home, and it was a difficult feeling for her to relate to. Her relationship with her own people had been shattered and broken for a long time. She couldn't imagine ever wanting to go back there. Though she supposed if they were under an immediate threat, like Tomin's people were, her feelings might change.

And yet, no matter how much she disagreed or couldn't relate to the reasoning behind Tomin's decision to leave, it was her sense of responsibility towards him that made this the most difficult. He had no one. No family. No loved ones. Only her. Who else would he lean on or rely on? Who would take care of him? The guilt she felt at being unable to do that seeped into her.

In the Ori galaxy he had taken care of her…loved her…and she hadn't returned the affection. Not in the way he needed it or deserved it to be returned. Daniel was right. No matter how hard she tried, she would never be able to love Tomin. Not when she was in love Daniel.

She looked over at him now, her eyes soaking in his every feature. He'd changed. Not completely. He was still Daniel. But with her, he was different. She didn't know when or why, but the minute her eyes registered his face in the bedroom on Celestis, she'd seen it. The reluctance, the distance he always tried to keep with her, had disappeared. Open affection and unreserved intentions had taken its place. Intentions she never imagined him returning. And there they were, blatant and bold for her to see. She thought she had imagined all of it. She thought she had been dreaming.

Then the truth seared her in his kiss on Hira. It had been so long since their first one on the _Prometheus_, she had forgotten what it felt like. But she also knew it didn't compare. His actions on the planet had been very un-Daniel-like. Never would she have expected that reaction from him. He had been the aggressor, and she had nearly become a puddle the moment his lips touched hers. It had been everything she had waited and longed for and plenty more. All at once she forgot about the world. Forgot about Adria. Forgot about the city crumbling around them. She had only felt him and his passion for her, his attraction to her, and his… love? Dare she even think it?

And yet since they'd returned to Earth, he'd been distant, quiet, out of arms' reach. Though to be fair, there had been little opportunity to be _within_ arms reach. Medical and psychological evaluations, reports, and all the extra testings that came with being an employee of Daniel's government…well, they'd all been very busy. There had been little time for them to talk about what happened on Celestis or on Hira.

She also suspected much of the distance she was feeling may have been created by her own insecurities. She had said little to him since they'd arrived, for fear that his words or hers might cancel out the past twenty-four hours.

Even now, sitting next to him, she felt like she was living in someone else's body. Worried about what he was thinking. Worried about her own feelings. Worried that she might only screw everything up anyway. It wasn't familiar, worrying. She wasn't a worrier. She was carefree. She was energetic. She was full of life…well until recently, anyway, and right now she was the antithesis of all these things.

What was happening to her? She used to be so good at this. Hiding her emotions from the world. Playing the part that everyone expected to see. One little kiss from Daniel, and her whole pretense falls away? Vala sat up a little in her chair. She just needed to try harder.

General Landry's voice interrupted her thoughts. "As far as I'm concerned, there is little we can do at the moment with the Ori. Since we are currently under the protection of the Ancient galactic cloaking device, we should only take advantage of it." He looked at his team. "You have all clocked in enough overtime. Take some time off. While you're away, I'll send our other teams off world to collect intel on the Ori, I've already got teams dispatched to the planets without gates, and I'll get the staff here to work on finding other Ancient sites in the Asgard database."

Mitchell nodded. "Thank you, sir."

Daniel's brow furrowed down its natural path as he looked past Vala to Jonas. "Do you still have that SGC laptop that you connected to the console in Hira?"

Jonas nodded, giving the skin under his head-bandage a scratch. "Yeah, I returned it to Dr. Lee and his people," he said, looking over at the astrophysicist and his team.

"Were you able to download any of the information from the Ancient database onto its hard drive?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah, I got some of it."

Vala couldn't contain her eyeroll. She knew what was coming next.

"General, would you mind if I took a look at that laptop? I may be able to search through the technology and see if there is any more information about the key that Jonas didn't have time to find on Hira."

Landry raised his brows. "Dr. Jackson, I just gave you time off. Are you asking if you can do work on your vacation?"

"It's all right, general. I won't let him work too hard," Vala offered. In an obvious attempt to return to old ways, she slid her arm through and around Daniel's and smiled suggestively. "I'm sure I can keep Daniel occupi-" She halted when she caught Daniel's brief glare. She gave him a small side-glance and shrugged. Mitchell quickly coughed over his laugh when she turned her gaze and winked at him. Daniel's glare changed directions.

The general ignored them, giving her a semi-amused, semi-dubious look before turning his gaze back to Daniel. "You can do whatever you like on your time off, Dr. Jackson. If you choose to work… or do other things, who am I to argue. You are welcome to contribute to our new situation in any way you feel necessary," Landry finished as he finally stood up. "Dr. Lee, make sure Dr. Jackson gets that laptop."

Dr. Lee stood up too and nodded. "Yes, of course, General Landry."

"Thank you, general," Daniel said to Landry after passing Vala another irritated frown.

"With that said…" Landry raised his voice, "you are all dismissed. Drop off your reports with Walter." Then he smiled warmly. "And enjoy your time off." He exited the room and closed his office door behind him.

"Nice," Mitchell said, stretching as everyone stood up. "There's no place like home."

Vala perked up. She abruptly released Daniel and sat up in her chair. "Home, as in Kansas?"

"Yes," Mitchell replied. "And no, you can't come."

Vala's pout was only momentary before she staged a grin at her second target. "Got any plans for our next film night, Muscles?"

"I have not."

"Does that mean I get to choose?"

He barely smiled. "Indeed. However, I plan to travel to Ishta's home planet during our time off."

Vala perked up. "Oh. Can I come?"

"Not a good idea," Mitchell warned the Jaffa under his breath, and then smirked when he caught Vala's narrowed look.

Dr. Lee and his team had already left. Jonas and Carolyn were chatting quietly together as they also exited.

Teal'c tilted an amused smile at Mitchell, but then turned his gaze on Vala. "You are welcome to join me."

Vala beamed, happy for the invitation. This was the perfect way to get back into her mode and get her mind off Daniel.

She bounced out of her chair and started to follow Teal'c and Mitchell out of the briefing room, her mind was buzzing with all the questions she wanted to ask Teal'c about Ishta and this planet they were going to visit. She didn't notice Daniel sitting at the table still taking notes from the briefing on his yellow notepad. But when his hand reached out and snatched a hold on the back of her shirt, her forward momentum was unexpectedly hampered, and she was forced to notice. She halted abruptly and turned back to him.

"Can I talk to you?"

Her skin prickled at the tone in his voice.

"Sure," she said tentatively. She waved at Teal'c and Mitchell to go ahead and moved back to her chair. The room was empty now, and they were alone. She sat quietly on the edge of her seat and waited a minute or two before he said anything.

"So how's the planning?" he said finally, still not looking at her.

She stared at him with big eyes. "The planning?"

His blue eyes lifted to hers for the barest moment, before dropping back down to his notepad, his pen scribbling away. "You didn't forget, did you?"

Her confused stare did not falter. "Forget?"

He stopped writing and stared at his notepad for a minute seeming to consider his next words. Finally he turned his head and looked at her. It took a moment, but a small smile started to curve the corner of his mouth.

She could only stare back at him, her eyes the size of saucers.

The smile on his face grew, the affection of it sending tendrils of warmth into her belly. "You did forget."

She barely shook her head at him. "I don't know what you mean."

He raised his eyebrows in amusement and turned in his chair to face her fully. He waited.

"Oh," she said, jumping to her feet. "The date!"

Daniel crossed his arms over his chest and grinned. "You forgot."

She gasped. "I did not."

"Did too."

"No, I didn't. You were being purposely evasive," she declared pointing at him.

He shrugged. "Maybe."

He was having way too much fun at her expense. She narrowed her gaze.

"So, the date," he continued nonchalantly. "Have you even planned anything?"

She lifted her chin, haughtily. "In fact, I have."

He sat up a little in surprise, but a pleased smile lit his features. "You have."

"Yes. I had it all planned out before _this_ happened," she finished waving offhandedly at the gate behind the briefing room's glass window.

He waited… and then finally cocked his head expectantly when she didn't elaborate. "So…"

She pressed her lips together and matched his dubious stare. "So?"

"The date…" he said dryly. "What is it?"

She straightened. "I'm not telling you. It's a surprise."

He managed to look impressed. "Okay, that's fair… When are we going?"

She hesitated and studied him for a moment. Was he only teasing her? She didn't think she could manage it, if he was.

She sat back down. "You're serious," she confirmed slowly, searching his eyes.

His smile disappeared. He stared back at her quietly before taking her hand in his. He stared down at her fingers for a moment before looking back up. "Yeah, I am."

Her heartbeat quickened under his stare. She couldn't fight the grin that was starting to crawl up her face. He slowly matched it.

She sat up. Looking around the room for a calendar. "What day is it?"

"Friday," he replied.

"Friday… " she murmured to herself in thought. Her brows suddenly jumped, and he released her. "Oh! Friday! That would make tomorrow Saturday."

"Uh, yeah."

"Tomorrow," she said dumbfounded, in reply to his question. She jumped to her feet again and stared at him, her eyes big. "Tomorrow. The date is tomorrow!"

Daniel couldn't keep the surprise off his face. "Tomorrow," he repeated, sitting up.

"Yes!" she replied suddenly lost in thought. "I have to check on the reservations… Now! I have to check on the reservations now. I have to go."

"Vala," Daniel called with a laugh as she jumped out of her seat and bounded for the door.

"Oh, sorry, darling," Vala rushed back to him, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "Tomorrow. I'll pick you up at your quarters. Eleven o'clock. Dress casual. You're driving."

"Eleven…in the morning? Or eleven at night?" he attempted to clarify, his skepticism evident.

"Night."

His brows jumped. "What are we doing? Robbing a gas station?" He dropped his chin and narrowed his gaze. "Do I need to bring my ski mask?"

"Oh, aren't you humorous," she replied, her lips twisted, but her enthusiasm was hardly dampened by his teasing. She wasn't imagining it. Daniel was actually excited about her date. Hot anticipation licked up her skin. Maybe all of her worries had been for nothing.

"So tomorrow night, then?" she queried with delicately lifted brows.

He nodded politely. "Tomorrow night it is."

"Tomorrow night it is," she murmured back with a small smile.

He smiled back with a warmth that settled in her bones and made her heart beat just a little faster. How had their relationship changed so drastically in this short time? Not a week ago, he was only rolling his eyes and glaring at her. Now, well he was still doing those things, but there was fondness there, and unguarded affection set into the deep blue fathoms of his eyes.

He raised his brows at her when she didn't move. "The reservation?" he questioned, his voice lined with amusement.

"Oh, yes," she jumped in remembrance, allowing her mind to become overtaken by a whirlwind of date thoughts. She gave him one of her brilliant white smiles. And without a second thought dismissed him with a toss of her hair and skipped out of the room without another glance in his direction. Vala didn't see it, but she knew Daniel's grin followed her.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter****25**

"Uh, Vala, at some point you're going to have to tell me where the hell we're going," Daniel commented as he turned his vehicle around for the fifteenth time that night. 

If she heard him, she pretended otherwise. She sat forward and twisted her torso 180 degrees to look behind them. "We need to turn around again. You were supposed to make a left there."

He gave her a look. She ignored it. With another exasperated sigh, he did as she asked. "If you would just tell me where we're going, I'm sure I could find this place a lot faster."

"And ruin the surprise, Daniel?" she managed to look momentarily hurt before turning her attention back to the Mapquest printout sitting in her lap. 

They'd been circling Colorado Springs in the dark for the last thirty minutes. Daniel knew he should just snatch the directions away from her and end this never-ending expedition. As much as he was happy to spend any sort of time with her, especially knowing what she had been through, he was getting tired of this game. 

"Oh Daniel, there!" Vala said suddenly, bouncing forward in her seat. Dropping the map on the floor, she unsnapped her seatbelt.

"Vala," he scolded the minute she did. But he was soon silenced when she crawled over him to look out his window. She leaned forward to point out the brightly lit sign in the distance a little farther down the road on his side.

Daniel was frozen underneath her. "Uh, Vala," he finally said after a few unbearable moments. 

Her eyes dropped to his lap, and like lightning, she immediately snatched her hand back and fell back into her seat. She looked up at him with wide eyes, but was unable to keep her grin tucked away. 

She didn't apologize. He didn't ask for it. They simply exchanged a hot look that teetered on embarrassment. Both realized it might be a little early to comment on it…so they kept quiet. 

He turned his eyes to look back out his window. He leaned forward squinting in the darkness trying to read the sign in the distance. Suddenly his face dropped. "Are you talking about Starlight Lanes? We passed this place twenty minutes ago."

She cocked her head at him. "Did we?"

"Yes," he said blandly, hearing the 'above suspicion' tone in her voice.

She didn't respond. Her eyes were back out on the road, waiting for them to arrive at the building. The theme of the date sank in. He scrunched his forehead at her. "We're going bowling?"

She smiled brilliantly at him, obviously pleased with herself. "Moonlight bowling," she corrected.

"You made reservations for bowling," he said flatly. This was not what he expected. Though remembering whom he was sitting next to, he should have.

"Well, I wanted to be sure they would have a lane open for us. And I hear this place is very popular on Saturday nights." 

As he pulled into the parking lot, he passed her a quick glance. "Have you ever been bowling?"

"No. But you can teach me," she replied, her gaze captured by the bright neon lights over the entrance. The moonlight bowling part of the sign was flashing and apparently it was enough of a draw to fill the parking lot. Vala must have had a pretty good source. The place seemed to be hopping and Daniel was having trouble finding a parking spot.

She suddenly frowned as a thought occurred to her. "You do know how to bowl, don't you, Daniel?"

"Yes, I know how to bowl," he replied easily. "I used to work in a bowling alley when I was in college."

She lifted her head and grinned at him. "Oh, then you must be good at it."

"Well, I was good at disinfecting shoes," he quipped dryly, but saw her worry return and tried to sound reassuring. "I am fairly good at bowling, yes." 

His eyes searched the lot for the smallest indication that someone might be leaving soon as he contemplated her and her date plans. Admittedly he was less than thrilled with the prospect of spending their date together in an overpopulated and noisy bowling alley. He'd been looking forward to a place that would be conducive to intimate, alone time with her. He really wanted to talk. He wanted to explain himself. Wanted to hear her feelings on everything that had happened between them. And yet, from the looks of things, it was unlikely that was going to happen anytime soon. But he did his best to keep his disappointment hidden. 

Moments later, Daniel's thoughts of her were distracted when an SUV's rear brake lights lit up just down the stretch. It pulled out, leaving a space for Daniel to park. 

Vala tossed the directions on the floor in the back and grabbed her purse, while Daniel pocketed his keys in his jacket and exited out of his side. Vala followed Daniel's lead after a quick once over in the visor mirror and stepped out of the car. He met her on the other side, closing the passenger-side door for her. She gave him a shy smile, indicating she probably wasn't used to this kind of attention. He returned it and warmed the small of her back with his hand, guiding her as they walked toward the entrance to the bowling alley. 

She was gorgeous. Her hair was down and wavy. She had one of her infamous glittery barrettes clipped just above her ear. Her clothing wasn't anything extraordinary. Just a simple white blouse that ruffled at the sleeves and a pair of jeans that hugged her in all the right places. And yet it was enough. The only thing that marred her perfect appearance was the jagged looking cut just below her hairline from when she had been injured on Hira. But it was healing nicely and, if anything, it only reminded him of how lucky he was to have her back.

When she had greeted him at his door earlier, it had taken all his willpower not to forget about the date altogether and just keep her in his quarters for the rest of the night. But he knew she had worked hard on all this. She was looking forward to it. While again, not the intimate night he had hoped for, she was true to her word in attempting to engage him in something fun. And he didn't want to ruin it for her. 

Walking into the entrance of the bowling alley, they were greeted with loud, energetic eighties music. The tenor sounds of pins crashing and the low rumble of bowling balls rolling quickly followed. Kids raced past from the arcade. Adults waited in line at the counter to purchase more games. And teens wandered by, gossiping about friends and munching on fast food from the bowling alley's pizzeria. 

Vala's wide eyes explored the new environment with awe and amazement. Daniel smiled. While Hira had been Daniel-Disneyland, this was Vala-Disneyland. He could feel his original disappointment fading as he watched her eyes sparkle in happy wonder. 

He stopped their forward movement at the counter to get their lane assignments, but Vala pulled away. "Oh no, Daniel, it's already been taken care of. I already reserved our lanes," she said, moving away toward the sounds of strikes and gutter balls. 

"Vala, just because you reserved a lane, it doesn't mean can just go and take one. We have to-"

But she was already out of earshot, on a mission towards the lanes, easily forgetting about Daniel. His eyes rolled upwards, and he made an irritated sound in his throat before jogging after her to catch up. 

The lanes spread out in seemingly endless directions. Blue lights and disco balls replaced the normal fluorescent lighting, highlighting bright neon illustrations on the walls. Vala was like a mouse following the pied piper's music. She was completely taken in by the atmosphere and lights.

But in moments her attention to the environment was lost. She was searching the lanes, as if looking for someone. Then a smile animated her face as her eyes seemed to spot something or someone.

"There they are," he heard her say.

"There who are?" Daniel asked in curiosity, following her. His eyes searched to see what she had seen. Then he saw them and stopped. 

Almost all the way down at the other end, in the middle of the last couple of lanes was a familiar face. Standing underneath the scoring screens, Mitchell was holding a hand over his head in greeting. An amused smirk lit his face when his eyes met with Daniel's. 

And then Daniel saw the other two. Sitting down in the seats near Mitchell were Teal'c and Carolyn Lam. Daniel could only stare in disbelief.

"Daniel?" Vala called with an expectant look. She had stopped only a few feet ahead, realizing Daniel was standing still in frozen astonishment. She waved him over.

Daniel quickly bit his words, a flood of annoyance washing over him. 

Vala didn't notice his change in temperament when he reached her. She was too bouncy and excited just being in the energized environment to care that Daniel was not very happy with the additional company.

"Hey there, princess," Mitchell called in greeting to Vala, ignoring Daniel's frown. "Was wondering when you guys would show up."

"What took you guys so long?" Carolyn queried. She was a little less decorated than Vala, but she looked good.

"We got a little lost," Vala explained, dropping her purse on an empty plastic seat.

"Don't you know where the only bowling alley in town is located, sunshine?" Mitchell asked of Daniel with a raised brow. "There's a big neon sign…you can probably see it from the top of Cheyenne Mountain." 

"I didn't know we were going bowling," Daniel said in his own defense, covering his annoyance with a forced smile. 

Vala hardly noticed. She was distracted by all the colorful bowling balls rolling down the lanes. Carolyn moved Vala away from the lane and guided her over to the cart of bowling balls behind them to help her choose one of her own.

Mitchell kept his knowing smile in place as Daniel moved to his side. 

"Didn't I just talk to you about how Vala and I were going out tonight. Funny how you didn't say anything about being here too," Daniel said in a low sarcastic voice to his friend. 

"Yeah, thought you might enjoy the surprise," Mitchell said with a chuckle. "Trust me. It only gets better."

Daniel turned a dubious stare in his direction. 

"Hey, this wasn't my idea. She had this all planned before you realized you loved her." 

Everything inside Daniel stilled. He looked over at Teal'c. Teal'c smiled pleasantly and did not meet his stare. He, like Mitchell, was watching the ladies test Vala's fingers on a lime green bowling ball. Daniel turned his sharp gaze back to Mitchell.

"For some reason, she didn't think you were looking forward to the date," Mitchell continued. "Thought inviting us would lessen your irritation with her. She actually had your best interests at heart."

Daniel's expression softened somewhat looking back at her. Then smirked to himself. "Plus, you know she really wanted to try out bowling."

"Yeah," Mitchell smiled. "There's also that."

"Daniel Jackson. You have not yet retrieved bowling shoes."

Daniel quickly dropped his eyes to his sneaker-ed feet where Teal'c was staring. "Oh, right." He looked back over at Vala who was testing the weight of a bright pink bowling ball. "Vala, we need to rent shoes."

Vala ignored him for only a minute, testing her fingers on one more bowling ball. She grinned when the bright pink one seemed to fit on her hand a little more perfectly than the last one. She bounced back over with Carolyn trailing behind and placed it with the rest of the bowling balls stacked up between the lanes. Seconds later she met Daniel at the top step with a beaming smile. It was hard to stay frustrated with the fact that their date had additional company when her excitement was so infectious. He didn't fight the smile that crept up just seeing her expression.

On their trip to the shoe rental counter, however, Vala's enthusiasm dampened. Seconds into their travels Vala had halted when her eyes spotted the pairs of rented shoes hanging from the fingertips of bowlers passing by. 

"Those cannot be the shoes," she declared, staring after the opposing shoe-wear in horror. 

Daniel nearly had to drag Vala to the counter. He gave the greasy-looking kid his shoe size and had to give Vala more than a few nudges for her to give hers. In only moments their shoes were sitting on the counter. Vala stared at them in unmasked disgust while Daniel paid the rental fees. 

She sniffed. "They're filthy," she remarked unconcerned about who heard her. 

"They were disinfected. Or at least they probably were," he offered as they headed back to their lane.

She snorted, eyeing the shoes in repulsion "I don't care. I am not wearing those things."

"Vala, they're meant to make you play better."

"I don't care. I'm not wearing them. They smell repugnant, and they're unsightly," she announced when they returned to their lanes. 

"Fine. Go in your socks."

Her expression lifted. "Can I? I'm allowed to do that?"

He dropped his head and sent Teal'c an exasperated look. "No," he replied, "but do it anyway."

She grinned. "Okay." She immediately plopped down in one of the plastic chairs opposite Teal'c and popped a sneaker off without untying it. Daniel sat next to her and untied his shoelaces.

"Carolyn, want to bowl in your socks with me?" Vala asked with a happy grin.

Carolyn looked over at Daniel and her brows lifted in mild amusement. He only shook his bowed head as he slipped his sneaker off. Carolyn looked back at Vala and finally shrugged. "Uh… sure. But our socks will get dirty."

"Oh." Her excitement nearly faltered. But then after thinking about it, she shrugged. "Well, I guess that's okay." She neatly tucked her sneakers under her seat. 

"Was Jonas invited?" Daniel asked pulling off his other shoe.

"He was, but he decided instead to spend the evening with Tomin," Mitchell replied.

"That was good of him."

"Yeah. I know Jonas is hoping to get more insider information about the Ori. If he's going to go back to Langera, he wants to know what he's up against. Tomin seemed the best resource for that."

Daniel nodded in understanding. 

After a few more minutes, lacing up his final shoe while Vala tested her 'Risky Business' moves on the slippery floor of the bowling lane, Daniel asked, "So, what are the teams? We're kind of uneven."

Mitchell cast Teal'c a quick glance. "Oh, we're not uneven. The third member of your team is getting pizza and beer."

Daniel raised his eyes, unable to stop the unease that settled in his gut at Mitchell's tone. "The third member?" he repeated.

"Did someone say anchovies?" an annoyingly familiar voice sounded behind them. 

Daniel looked up sharply. "No." 

Vala paused mid-slide at the new voice, a smile lighting her face. "Jack!" 

The older man chose not to recognize Daniel's maddened expression, and he dropped the pizza box in his hands on the table. "Pizza's here, kids."

The waitress who had followed Jack back to their lane set two pitchers of beer and plastic cups on the second table behind him.

Jack snagged the plates that had been sitting on the top of the box and opened the box. "T, Mitchell… Carolyn, Vala. We got cheese or pepperoni."

Mitchell smiled at the floor before lifting his head and getting out of his chair. "Sounds great. Smells great, actually." 

"Indeed," Teal'c said, following him. Both bypassed Daniel without meeting his look.

Daniel got up. "Jack." His voice laced with displeasure.

"Daniel," his friend replied in return as he pulled a slice from the box and handed it to Teal'c who had a paper plate ready.

"Jack," he ground out again.

"Daniel?" his final query met with a semi-amused, lifted eyebrow.

Daniel's eyes remained wide and annoyed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Vala invited me."

"Why?" he asked slowly.

"Well, the whole bowling date was his idea," Vala informed him as she slid past him towards the delicious smell. 

Daniel turned his wide-eyed stare on her, which she met unabashedly. "His idea?" 

"Yes, and I couldn't very well not invite him." 

Daniel's disbelief shifted to irritation. "You went to Jack for advice about our date?"

Her dark brows dropped. "Well, he is your best friend. Who would know better what kind of date you might like?"

"Well, that might make the best of sense if we were talking about anyone else but Jack," Daniel said, moving his eyes back to the man under discussion.

"If you don't want any pizza or beer just say so," Jack commented, handing a slice to Vala.

"It has nothing to do with the pizza or beer," Daniel gritted out. 

"The bowling?" he queried, grabbing his own slice while Carolyn passed beer around to everyone else. "I thought you liked bowling."

"I do like bowling."

"Well what then?" 

Daniel gave him a knowing glare.

Jack bit off the point of his slice and chewed thoughtfully, meeting his annoyed stare. "I'd hate to think you don't want me here, Daniel."

"No, don't think that," Daniel said, his voice heavy with sarcasm. 

Jack only raised his grey brows at him, his face plain of amusement, but his eyes sparkling with familiar mischievousness. He took another bite over a mouth twisted in dark amusment before he took a seat at one of the tables at the top of the stairs.

He and Jack continued their stare off until Daniel finally broke it with a ragged sigh of frustration. He was not going to let Jack ruin this night. Maybe he could just haul Vala off, and then they could have the alone time they so rightly deserved. Daniel moved his eyes to Vala. She passed him his own paper plate and plastic beer cup. She smiled happily at him and sat down in the chair next to his shoes, joining the rest of the team who had returned to their seats and were eating.

Daniel sighed and closed his fist tightly around the plastic cup sending beer foam over the edge and unto his pants. He ignored it. His mind was too conflicted and completely caught up in her. She was happy and enjoying their 'date.' He knew he'd just have to suck it up and put up with the jibes from his friends for the rest of the night. 

"Mmmm…" Jack commented over a mouthful of cheese. "I love pizza and beer on date-night."

Daniel's eyes snapped open and he glared again. Though in no way did that mean he couldn't harm them.

The first game went about as well as Daniel should've expected. Team Mitchell, Teal'c, and Lam were bowling magicians, getting strikes and spares just about every time their ball would role down the lane. 

Mitchell admitted to playing in a league with his parents when he was kid. Carolyn happened to be a natural and managed to out-bowl Mitchell at every turn. That was just about one of the few amusements Daniel could claim from his evening, watching Mitchell get more and more exasperated as her score kept inching up higher and higher than his. And Teal'c… who the hell knew how he bowled so well. He, like Vala, was a first time bowler.

Team Vala, Jack, and Daniel on the other hand bowled worse than Daniel thought was possible. 

"That went well," Jack said casually after watching Vala roll the bright bowling ball between her legs only for it to veer off into the gutter almost immediately. It didn't even have enough power to make it all the way down the gutter. Daniel had to go trudging after it.

Daniel attempted to teach her. He'd model for her the right way to hold the ball, the stance, how to release the ball… which only resulted in Mitchell's snickers, and Jack's smart ass remarks at his descriptions. 

Then Daniel tried to physically guide her movements with his own, only to find that being pressed against her, and all her small wiggles and bumps, were much too stimulating to continue helping her without introducing her to just what he'd rather be doing with her. Just watching her slide, bend, and bounce as she tossed the bowling ball down the lane with a thunk was enough to get him all bothered just sitting from a distance. Feeling her up against him while she did it would only result in more embarrassment.

Jack clearly just came for the pizza and beer… and to bug the hell out of Daniel. He barely managed to round out a score of fifty. Most of his efforts ended up in the gutter, to which he responded with a disappointed, "Oy!" And yet his lack of success at bowling hardly seemed a bother. Jack seemed perfectly happy sipping his beer and enjoying Daniel's glares. 

Daniel, who should have been semi-decent at bowling, pretty much sucked too. He was completely distracted. Anytime he was up, Vala was sliding around in her socks, dancing to the loud music and bumping into him. Or she was sidling up to him at the last minute asking him bowling questions in her silky alto tones. Or having conversations with Carolyn about sex, just in general. Carolyn needless to say could only smile back, wide-eyed and provide Vala with her best professional opinion on the matter. The only gutter ball Mitchell got that night was right when he and Daniel were both up to bowl and Vala asked Carolyn which contraceptives she and Mitchell use.

By the end of the first game, Team Vala, Jack, and Daniel barely hit the three-digit mark. Daniel was exhausted and Vala said she needed to 'pee,' so he took her on a much-needed break from the rest of the team and escorted her to the bathrooms near the entrance. 

He was waiting for her outside the arcade as she exited the ladies room. But as she passed by the open entrance to the arcade, her eyes hesitated on something inside. Then her face stilled. "Daniel," his name escaped her lips in awe, her eyes wide like a child's. 

His brows furrowed, and he stepped forward to see what she had spotted. 

Within the arcade, right in the path of their eyesight on the opposite end of the room, next to two mammoth racecar video game consoles, and a teenage mutant ninja turtle arcade game, was a single claw vending machine. Loaded with strange-looking cartoon characters and other various stuffed creatures, the silly metal game sat waiting for endless minutes of parental frustration and a few thousand quarters. 

Daniel glanced briefly at Vala in curiosity. Her eyes were bright as she moved slowly away from him and towards the game. It only took him a minute or so to finally realize what had grabbed her attention as his eyes caught sight of it too. In the middle of the pile of stuffed creatures in the claw machine, a tall and proud, orange and brown giraffe stared back at them expectantly. 

Vala could only stare back in awe. "He's beautiful." She looked up at Daniel. "How do I get him?"

Daniel fought a smile, scratching behind his ear. "Well, it's a lot harder than it looks."

Her forehead furrowed as she stared back at the box-shaped machine with glass windows. "What do you have to do?"

"You see that metal, three-pronged claw hanging above the pile?" he said, leaning into her and pointing. She nodded, squinting thoughtfully. "Well," he said, tapping the top of the joystick with his fingertips. "You use this to aim the claw at the stuffed animal you want, and then you press this red button to try and grab it."

Her lips pursed. "It doesn't seem too difficult."

Daniel half-smiled. "Yeah, that's the point. They want you to think it's easy so you'll spend all your money thinking you can do it."

She looked up. "Can you?"

He made a face and gazed back at her, her pretty face staring up at him in wide-eyed hopefulness. He dragged his eyes away from her and searched the room for a kind way to say no. She pressed her body up against his chest. He looked down and was met with doe-eyes. He sighed. She grinned.

"I'm not making any promises."

"I have faith in your abilities, Daniel." 

"Thanks," he replied dryly, yanking his wallet out of his back pocket. "How much is this thing?"

Vala looked over the front of it. "A dollar."

He halted his search. "A dollar?" He was about to put his wallet away, but saw her expression and with another sigh pulled out a ten-dollar bill. "Here." He pointed to the arcade counter. "Go get singles," he dropped to his haunches after putting his wallet back, "while I try and see if I can figure this thing out."

Vala returned in under thirty seconds, bouncing as she handed over the singles. He tucked a bunch in his pocket and inserted one into the machine. The claw hummed to life and a red clock ticked off as he had thirty seconds to get her prize. 

Half the time up and no result, Vala finally queried into his strange method of trying to get the stuffed giraffe. "Aren't you supposed to use the claw thingy to grab it?"

Daniel was concentrating hard as he swung the claw through the glass box, trying to knock the giraffe into the exit shaft. "I heard you're more likely to get something if you just try to knock it over the shaft rather than grab it."

But when time was up, there was no giraffe.

"Well, that method wasn't very successful," Vala said plainly.

"No," Daniel replied, grabbing for another dollar. "It may just take some time."

Nine more singles later and another twenty that Vala retrieved from the arcade worker and still…no giraffe. Daniel did manage to knock the green hat off a stuffed leprechaun. Somehow that just didn't have the same satisfaction. And much to his own dismay he realized he probably would've continued to try if they didn't have a line of children behind them waiting for their own crack at the stuffed giraffe. The children were starting to get impatient and unruly, and it took Vala's grasp to finally drag him away.

"Sorry," Daniel grumbled as they started to exit the arcade. 

She grabbed his arm and held him back. Seeing his regret, he saw her put away her own disappointment as she smiled up at him brightly. "I love my tiny green 'leper can' hat," she said, lifting it up to give it a quick kiss.

"Nice try. You don't need to make me feel better," he responded, his amusement returning. "And it's 'leprechaun,' by the way." 

"Well, whatever it's called, I like it," she tried to insist.

"Sure you do."

"I do!" she said, trying to sound offended. "I can put it on Walter. He needs a hat"

"Walter? I'm assuming you not talking about Sgt. Harriman."

"Oh no. That's the name of my other giraffe."

"Oh right. The old one you keep in your mission pack." 

She nodded. 

"I thought you wanted a new Walter," Daniel said with raised brows, nodding back at the machine.

Vala shrugged. "It's for the best. He'd be offended if I brought home a new giraffe."

"So I just spent thirty bucks on a tiny green hat for your giraffe," Daniel commented wryly.

Vala grinned. "He will thank you for it. As will I."

She moved up to give him a quick kiss on the lips, but when she did, he caught her, causing her kiss to linger. Electricity sparked as she finally dragged her mouth from his. 

He didn't give either of them time to reflect on what it meant before he leaned in and kissed her again for only a moment. It lasted only a few seconds longer than the first kiss she initiated and an unhappy sound arose in her throat when he retreated. The corner of his mouth lifted when he saw her flushed face. His eyes dropped to her mouth before moving in and doing it again… and again… and again. He teased her, his kisses barely lingering before pulling back. Swift and playful, she met him. Every kiss. Every nip until she finally snagged her fingers in the loops of his belt and pulled him closer for a full on kiss that almost made his toes curl. 

He hooked his fingers around hers as she continued to slow them down, letting her mouth take his for a ride. She pressed him against a video console. It was all he could do to let her keep control as she continued to take her time pressing her warm mouth against his. And yet he knew she wanted to pick this up as much as he did. While her kisses were leisurely and unhurried, he could feel her body buzzing beneath his hold. He wasn't sure how long either of them could hold out under this kind of slow pace.

All of a sudden a surprised cheer and happy child-like squeals interrupted their kiss. Vala paused, lifting her lips from his for a moment to look over Daniel's shoulder. Her eyes widened and before she could explain, a large bully-sized boy with dark freckles charged by them waving a giraffe in his hands. "Mom! Mom!" he called in triumph as a whole bunch of his smaller friends trailed behind him, all of them racing for the lanes.

Vala looked back at Daniel in wide-eyed astonishment. Daniel had the feeling that his expression said it all, because moments later a small smile began to creep into her cheeks.

"Don't say it," Daniel said before she could speak, irritation evident in his voice.

She grinned wide, but tried to cover it with false condolence and sympathy. "Oh, Daniel-"

"Don't," he ordered, halting her from saying another word. 

She pressed her lips together in amusement and kept quiet, but it was obvious it wasn't going to stay locked up for long.

"They're probably wondering where we are," Vala offered as a change of topic, continuing to play with the belt loops in his jeans as she smiled up at him.

"Yeah, well, ask me if I care," he murmured, suddenly caught up in her smile.

"Do you care?" she said staring at his mouth.

"Nope," he said, pressing a kiss on her lips. It was another short one. As much as he would've liked spending many more hours kissing her in the arcade, he suddenly decided he had other plans. "When we get back to the lanes, put your shoes on and grab your things." 

He followed his words with another kiss to which she happy replied with her own. Then his directive seemed to sink in and she pulled back with a curious frown and cocked her head. "What? Why?"

"Your part of the date is over."

"Is it?"

"Yep, my turn," he smirked at her expression. It was a cross between wanting to be obstinate and wanting to know what he had planned. 

He raised his brows at her, waiting to see which one she would choose. 

She twisted her mouth and eyed him suspiciously. "Will I like it?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "I guess you'll have to wait and see."

Her eyes narrowed even further, and he could barely manage the grin that wanted to escape to the surface. After a few more lengthy moments of trying to figure out what he was hiding, she finally gave up and huffed in defeat. 

His grin finally escaped and tucking her hand into his, he guided her back to their lanes where the rest of the team was impatiently waiting for them.

Daniel released her, so he could sit down and take off his shoes. He ignored all the stares. Vala was, of course, oblivious. 

"You two were gone an awfully long time," Jack said, leaning back causing his plastic chair to squeak. He raised his brows. "What'd you do? Get lost?"

"Daniel was trying to win me a stuffed giraffe with this metal claw device," Vala explained to the group as she stuck her toes into her shoes and tried to shoehorn her feet back in with her fingers. "He wasn't very successful at it. A child won it not long after Daniel spent thirty dollars trying." 

Daniel looked over at Vala in mild exasperation. 

"Nice," Jack smirked. He got an irritated glare in return.

"I am familiar with this game," Teal'c spoke up in Daniel's defense. "The task is quite difficult." 

"He did win me this lovely leprechaun hat," Vala said, lifting up the tiny piece of felt. 

Mitchell looked up from the console where he and Carolyn were attempting to set up a new game and grinned before dropping his eyes back to the computer screen.

Jack looked over at Vala. "Are you sure that's all you were doing? Trying to win a little hat."

"Well, no of course not. Daniel and I spent some time in an arcade nook making out-"

"Vala!" 

She looked over at Daniel and managed a somewhat chagrined expression. "Daniel, I was just answer-"

"Just- get your shoes on," he sputtered as he tied up the last of his laces.

Mitchell looked up again, affronted. "You're leaving? Already?"

"Yes."

"Other plans, Daniel?" Jack asked in amusement.

"Yes," Daniel snapped again, only his voice was directed at Jack. "And it's none of your damn business."

"Did I ask?"

Daniel grunted as he picked up his bowling ball and stalked away to place it over on the rack against the wall.

"Well, isn't he just a treat this evening?"

Vala slipped her purse over her shoulder and moved to sit next to Jack. "Don't take it personally. I think he's just a little sexually frustrated."

"Ya think?" his voice sarcastic as his eyes trailed Daniel. Daniel had busied himself by throwing out the empty pizza box and plates for everyone while he waited for Vala. Jack leaned his head in Vala's direction. "You're going to be taking care of that tonight, right?"

Vala gave him a wide smile.

"It's about damn time," Jack snorted before raising his eyes to Daniel. "When was the last time, Daniel? Hathor? That princess chick that had you cracked out on the sarcophagus? Oh wait, no it was that old lady, wasn't it?"

Daniel's teeth clenched as he waited at the top of the stairs. "She was not old."

"Well, not physically, but in here…" Eyebrows lifted, Jack tapped his temple with his thumb.

Daniel didn't even surmount a glare. "Vala," he ground out impatiently. 

"Oh," she jumped. "Sorry, Daniel. Coming." She turned around and waved. "Thanks for the wonderful night everyone. We'll have to do this again sometime."

Daniel's eyes widened dubiously. "Uh… no," he said bluntly before dragging her away without a single wave to his teammates.

"Can't wait," Jack countered in his patented dry enthusiasm. Then he turned to Teal'c and rubbed his hands together. "All right, T. It's you and me against those two."

"I do not think it would be wise to take you as a teammate, O'Neill. You do not seem to be very proficient at bowling."

"Bah, that was just me sticking it to Daniel. I was saving all my skill for when he left. Mitchell, you owe me twenty bucks by the way."

"I can't believe he couldn't hold out until the second game at least."

"Yeah, you don't know the space-monkey like I do." 

Jack's snark trailed away as Daniel and Vala furthered their distance from their lanes. Once they reached the entrance, Daniel hesitated and passed her his keys. "Go start the car. I'll be right out."

Vala's answer was a curious stare, but she didn't argue. She left him, and he hurried off to complete one last thing before the second half of their evening began.

Minutes later he returned to find the car humming with life and Vala waiting for him in the passenger seat. She looked up at him expectantly as he climbed into the driver's side seat and tried to keep what was in his hand hidden as he closed the door.

He sighed and looked over at her with a smirk. "You have no idea what I had to do to get this."

She cocked her head in confusion and waited for him to elaborate.

He pulled the something extra he had brought with him out in plain sight for her to see.

Vala's eyes widened. Unable to contain her squeal, she snatched it out of his grasp and squeezed it affectionately to her chest, immediately giving it a swift kiss on the head. 

She looked up, an elated grin spread out across her face. "Daniel, how did you-"

He shrugged. "Bought it off the kid. I paid a little more than I should have," a slow smile warmed his face, "but just seeing your face. It was worth it."

Vala gave no warning of intent. A moment later she jumped him, her stuffed giraffe completely forgotten as it rolled to the floor.

He laughed as he caught her. Kisses rained over him until he was finally able to capture one of his own. She hummed in response, continuing to feed on him until she half-settled on his lap for further conversation. His mouth opened to hers without hesitation, allowing her tongue to tangle with his. She wasn't greedy. She took her time exploring his mouth, and readily allowed him entrance into hers as his tongue moved in to trace the hot warmth. 

It took his own groan as she shifted erotically against his lap to break him out of his reverie. He was so caught up he nearly forgot that he had other plans…and the bowling alley parking lot was not where he intended for those plans to take place. 

The one who had tried to slow things down inside the bowling alley was now extraordinarily difficult to peel away. "Mmm… Just -hold on to that thought," Daniel murmured as he tried to move her off him, but not without a few more breathy sighs and moans as Vala took every chance she could to keep her lips locked with his. "We still have a date to finish," he said, finally managing to remove himself from her. 

She pouted in dissatisfaction, her lips flushed. "Do we have to? I'm enjoying myself right here."

"Yeah, I know you are," he replied with a smirk, "but I have other date plans."

Her mouth lifted slightly at his expression. "Hmm…plans as good as mine?"

"No. They are nothing like yours. Thank god." He half-grinned at her offended glare. "Trust me."

She lifted her brows dubiously. "Haven't we discussed how that phrase has gotten quite the reputation when coming from you?" 

He merely smiled before putting the car in reverse and peeling out of the parking lot.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

The view was beautiful. Tiny lights dotted the black landscape below almost as beautifully and mysteriously as the stars that dotted the night sky. If Vala squinted, she was sure she could see the blinking sign of the bowling place that she and Daniel had departed from nearly twenty minutes before. And all around them it was quiet. Only crickets made their presence known, singing their quiet little night songs in the cool breezes that wafted through the open windows of Daniel's vehicle.

"What do you think?" Daniel finally asked. He'd been watching her quietly since the moment he had parked in the dark, tiny, six-car parking lot near the top of the mountain.

"It's pretty," she commented politely. She wasn't lying, but she hardly understood his intentions for bringing her here. "Where are we?"

"On the other side of Cheyenne Mountain." He leaned forward over the steering wheel and pointed up into the darkness of the land that continued to rise above them. "That's our observatory station where a small group works on and studies deep space telemetries and other astrological read-outs."

She squinted into the darkness to where he pointed and barely managed to see an upside-down bowl-shaped building in the darkness. A tiny square of light was the only indication someone was actually working there.

"I used to come here a lot when I first joined SG1," he admitted after a bout of quiet.

She turned her gaze back to him, anxious curiosity ruling her features. She could tell by the tone of his voice, the light-heartedness from her earlier-half of the night had slowly ebbed away in the time it had taken them to drive her here. He had grown quiet, reserved almost, as he seemed consumed in his own thoughts.

She interpreted the silence as worry and reflection over his earlier, uncharacteristic public displays of affection with her. The kissing, the undisguised fondness… she wondered if he regretted it now. She worried that in his time of contemplation, he had changed his mind about her. She had known that Daniel had wanted to talk, it was what he did best…converse for endless hours over meaningless historical documents, but somehow now, she knew his words in this moment were going to be important. That the impact of his words on her life would be… immeasurable. And yet she still had no idea of how or why. She only knew, deep down, his tone left a cinching uneasiness in the deep recesses of mind.

If Daniel noticed her inner turmoil, he didn't acknowledge it. He instead leaned back in his seat, his stare now fixed on the dark landscape below them with an indecipherable expression on his face. "I used to come here when I needed quiet or when I needed a place to think."

She waited while he continued to stare out into the dark, his quiet contemplation reminding her of those rare moments in their past when he left his emotions and worries out in the open for her to see. It gave her flutters wondering about what he might be thinking now.

She knew in that moment, there was a deeper connection to this place than his words indicated. "Do you still?"

His eyes dropped in thought and then he looked over at her briefly, a smile barely tugging his lips. "It's been a few years. I've been distracted."

She didn't reply with a smile of her own. She simply studied him further, questions floating around her mind as she watched him. She snatched one and let it slip past her lips.

"Is this where you mourned her? Your wife?"

He blinked and looked quickly away.

Her forehead scrunched in concern as he stared forward, his mouth contorting. She could see him fighting the demons within. She didn't expect an answer so quickly, but she got one, his voice tight. "Yeah, you could say that."

Her heart filled. It ached to overflow. It took every bit of strength she had not to reach out and touch him in comfort. "I'm sorry, Daniel," she murmured, he voice soaked in sadness.

His gaze immediately matched hers, apologetic. "No, I am. This isn't why I brought you here." Then he dropped his head back slightly, rethinking his words. "Well it is, but not like this. Not to make you feel sorry for me."

She breathed in and pressed her lips together before nodding.

He huffed a small laugh seeing her expression. "I should start over."

"Okay," she replied tentatively, waiting.

He sighed, dragging his gaze away. "When Sha're was first taken, I would come here to think about her. To miss her. To love her. To wish she was here. I would look at the sky and wonder if she was thinking the same thing about me, hidden away in Amonet somewhere in the galaxy." He bent his head looking up at the stars through the windshield. "My mind was so consumed with finding her and all the other things the SGC was having us do. I just needed a quiet place where I could think about her away from all the complicated parts."

He leaned back, his eyes unfocused once again. "After she died, I came here nearly every night. Insomnia consumed me and I'd drive out here and spend hours upon hours thinking about what I'd lost, how I failed. Of course time went by and the time I spent here dwindled away to where I might be reminded to come out here once a month. Maybe once every two months."

He dropped his gaze in thought. "But somewhere along the way, I forgot about this place. I still loved Share and missed her, but I didn't need this place anymore. I didn't need her memories to keep me going. And as I said before, I got a little distracted."

"By what?" she asked quietly, almost afraid to ask.

He lifted his eyes to hers. "By the Ori, for one. While I was hardly happy with the prospect of a new enemy, I no longer had to concern myself with the Goa'uld. Not to the extent where I had before. I wasn't reminded every time I faced a prior of what I had lost. I had a new face to fight, a new problem to solve. And then, of course, there was you. You were my second distraction," he finished dryly.

"Me?" she said slowly, her eyes widening.

"Well, you're hardly easy to ignore."

She managed a narrowed look. "I'm sure there's a compliment in there somewhere."

He smirked and looked away. "You annoyed the hell out of me. You ruined my dreams of going to Atlantis. Suddenly I was a babysitter because no one else could or would put up with you. I had my whole life in order before you came along."

She blinked and looked away, unable to make a clever retort. This was what she had been waiting for, the immense hurt that filled her senses making her sinuses burn. But before she could immerse herself in it, he had her chin in his grasp and was gazing back into her eyes, his eyes bright.

"I'm not saying this to hurt you," he said softly, letting go of her chin to gently caress her cheek. "I just need you to understand where I'm coming from. I was frustrated and awful to you because I thought I knew what I wanted out of my life. And you weren't it."

Her pained gaze held steady with his.

"But I was lonely, Vala. I came to this place because I was lonely," he said, nodding his head at the darkness outside. "While my trips here had lessened, they had never stopped. I'm sure in Atlantis I would have found a similar place and continued to be as inherently unhappy there as I was here." He tilted his head and looked down on her. His hand fell away from her cheek. "Yet…not once, since you arrived in my life, have I come back here."

She didn't move, letting his confession settle over her and startle her senses. Only moments before, her heart had tightened painfully thinking of the hated thoughts Daniel must have had for her. But now it fluttered, a mix of confusion, hope, and fear.

"You didn't allow me to be lonely," he admitted, continuing, "you became a constant. If we weren't off world working together, you were in my office or following me around base nearly every waking second of the day. It got to the point where even when you weren't around, you were a constant…in here too," he said pointing to his head. "I couldn't get away from you. You wandered into my thoughts as uninvited as you do everywhere else. And while I'll admit, my thoughts of you weren't always the most kind, they kept me company in your absence.

"It's why I forgot about this place," he said, his eyes sweeping back over the scenic darkness again as a cool breeze swept through the vehicle, ruffling his hair. He looked down again for a moment of thought before looking back at her. "That is until you disappeared."

Her brows furrowed at him, her mind not clear on what he was attempting to imply. He didn't meet her gaze. His eyes conflicted, he looked away.

"When I saw that fire explode from the gate…I came back." He smiled darkly at himself and shook his head. "It was different from the other times. Not like when you disappeared in the Ori galaxy or were kidnapped by the Trust. In those instances, there was still an underlying hope or belief that your were actually okay. But with this…something really felt wrong. You felt gone. Really gone this time."

"I was," she said softly.

His eyes hitched on her face as both were reminded of what that felt like. His jaw clenched a moment, as anger flared. She could see him fighting to keep it under control, but he didn't hide it from his tone. "Yeah. I guess you were."

"But I'm here now," she said softly, running her knuckles against his shoulder as proof.

He didn't smile. His eyes simply trailed her hand. "I realized that I was in love with you on this mountain." His unexpected words came out strong and steady. "And thinking you were really gone, it broke me."

She sucked in a breath and stared. Her mind was a flurry of thoughts, even as her heart stilled in her chest.

"I love you, Vala," he repeated, the rumble in his voice sending fiery tingles up her arms and down her legs. He stared back at her this time as the four words spilled from his mouth. His clear gaze burned a hole right through her. "Coming here, feeling like I failed you, like I failed Sha're, I knew why I was so broken. I had lost another woman that I loved."

The response to his declaration was silence. The inside of the vehicle, quiet. He didn't make any moves to touch her. He was watching her expectantly, patiently… waiting for her to make the next move. She was too stunned. She couldn't speak, much less move.

It never once occurred to her that these were the words that would impact her. Was it really possible? Daniel loving a woman like her? She was a thief. She was a liar. She was everything under the stars that Daniel considered morally repugnant. Flawed and broken and hardly an easy woman to deal with, how could he have fallen in love with her?

Sex, passion, and all the other fun things that were involved in mutual attraction…those were the things in which she excelled. She knew eventually she could get him to crack in that regard. But this? She remained in stupefied muteness, as her mind and heart tumbled over each other frantically trying to puzzle it all together.

His patience began to wane as the silence continued. Something indecipherable settled in his clear eyes as he watched her, and she realized her quiet contemplation had been determined a reply.

He leaned back in his seat, a grim expression beginning to settle around his mouth. "I didn't expect you to return the same feelings. But I thought you should to know." His tone was heavy and harsh as he turned himself to face the windshield again.

She watched him grip the steering wheel tightly. His expression was closed off, but his hurt was evident. It saturated every handsome feature.

She slid over in her seat so she could be closer to him. He was stiff as she weaved her arms around the one closest to her to tug herself closer to his side. She propped a chin on his shoulder and studied his clenched jaw. "I do. I just never in a million cycles thought you would."

He turned a glare down at her. "'You do' what?"

"Love you," she replied, her voice quiet and tentative for fear that he might take it back once she admitted it.

His face was guarded as he studied her in return. She slid her cheek against his shoulder and looked down to find his hand had fallen off the steering wheel. She threaded her fingers with it. After a few more endless moments, she looked up to find his heavy gaze had softened.

She lifted her face to his, and he met it with a kiss so soft, their lips barely touched. She was shocked again how much a simple touch like that could set her on fire. Eyes closed, she engaged him in more, settling her mouth more firmly on his. He easily reciprocated, warming her. They began languidly and leisurely, but her innate drive to move ahead increased the pace.

His desire matched hers as he immediately sought her open mouth with his tongue. As soon as it entered, a pleasured sigh erupted from her chest. His tongue swept over hers and throughout her mouth's recesses leaving a hot trail and eliciting many more sighs.

Uncomfortable and unhappy with his current access to her, he turned more fully so that he could kiss her more readily. Releasing her hand from their mutual grasp, he cupped the side of her face and took a more aggressive stance, slanting his mouth over hers.

She could barely sit upright. She could feel her body's need to buckle under his assault, but she didn't. She pushed back just as hard, removing herself from his kiss only so that she could suck on his bottom lip as she retreated.

He moved his hands to weave themselves into her dark tresses. Their silky textures slipped through his fingers and he pressed her mouth even more firmly against his own.

Murmuring with pleasure at the added pressure, she ran her fingers up his thighs and squeezed, holding herself in place. He grunted, leaning into her touch, but then abruptly broke away.

She leaned her head against his forehead, trying to get her breath back while he tried to lock his blue eyes on her. She opened her eyes and looked back, curious and waiting. He moved his gaze back to her mouth and his hand back to her cheek. He ran a thumb over her red and swollen lower lip.

His eyes immediately shot back up to hers. They sparkled, but there was a hint of warning in them. "You better not be messing with me."

She blinked back at him in surprise, but she realized he was teasing a bit, and a mischievous smile began to break out across her face. "And if I am?" she teased back.

He raised his brows at her dubiously. "Then I'm leaving you on this mountain."

She grinned at him and kissed him once to which he responded easily before she pulled back quickly. "I'm not," she replied huskily to his question with a slight smile that she could see warmed him right up to his eyes.

He grinned in return, moving a tangled piece of hair off her cheek and behind her ear. "Then it's time to go."

Her brows jumped and she sat back. "What? We're going? Why?"

"I've accomplished what I wanted to do here."

She flashed him a seductive smile as she stared at his mouth. "Oh but, darling. I'm not finished with you yet."

He slowly raised his brows. "Oh, neither am I."

"Then why…"

"Somehow continuing in this uncomfortable car is not that appealing."

"Humph," she pouted and sat back, attempting to look mildly insulted.

He paused from sticking his keys in the ignition. "That is unless you want to continue talking."

Her wide eyes expressed her opinion on that matter very nicely.

"Yeah," he chuckled. "That's what I thought." He turned the ignition and the engine rumbled to life.

She stared at him unhappily from her seat as he slowly reversed out of the parking lot. "So are you telling me this was the better part of our date? Because I think my part of the date was much more entertaining," she retorted.

He looked over at her dubiously. "Oh really? Do you want me to take back all that stuff I said before?"

She arched her brows delicately, unconcerned by his threat. "Only if you want me to take back what I said."

He turned his sparkling eyes on her for only a moment, seeming to consider whether to continue the banter. A barely-there-smile graced his lips. "No, I don't."

She warmed under his look. It was amazing what those eyes could do to her. But she blinked, remembering her initial argument, and turned a haughty glare on him. "But that still does not deter me from my earlier sentiment."

"Which is?"

"My part of the date was far more interactive and adventurous than yours."

"The night is not over," he countered, amusement curving the corner of his mouth. "And I did just take you parking. Sort of…"

Vala abruptly sat up, her brows nearly to her hairline. "THAT was parking?"

He only smirked in reply as he pulled out onto the mountain road.

"Giving me the fright of my life and then telling me you loved me was parking?!"

"The fright of your life?" he asked with a curious expression.

"Well, you were strangely quiet and I had no idea what was going to come out of your mouth. I hardly expected undying affection…not that I'm complaining mind you."

"No. Of course not." He gave her a strange semi-amused look as he drove them down the mountainside road.

Her brows furrowed in thought. "That was not what I imagined parking to be."

"No?"

"No. If that's all it was, then why was everyone so tightlipped about it?"

"If you're talking about all of the SGC personnel you went to for date advice, well I imagine what we just did, wasn't the parking to which they were referring. Our talk wasn't parking. It was the other stuff we did. That was parking… only without the stopping part."

Her eyes, round like little blue stargates, turned on him. "That was parking! And you're driving away? Turn around this moment," she insisted.

He looked over at her and gave her grin.

"Daniel!?"

"Hmmm?" he replied with a smile pressed in amusement.

She narrowed her eyes on him, slowly sliding back over to him. In only seconds, the distance between them was non-existent. "Are you saying you don't want to have sex with me?" she breathed seductively in his ear.

"You know the answer to that question," he said keeping his eyes locked on the road.

She trailed his necks with her lips as she spoke. "Then turn around, darling."

He laughed. "Uh, no."

She paused her sweet assault, and sat back, not having to put effort into looking completely affronted this time.

He gave her a quick smirk. "Vala, I am not continuing that in a car with you. High school kids do that. Not adults. I'm taking you back to my apartment.

Her eyes brightened and a white smile broke out across her face. "Really? I get to see your apartment? You've never taken me there before."

He nodded. "I know."

She maintained her smile and cocked her head. "Do we get to continue our previous activities there?"

"That is the plan."

"Will there be rose petals and candles?"

He looked at her. "Rose petals and candles?"

"I've seen it on your televisions shows before. It's apparently a sign of romanticism in your culture."

He simply raised his brows at her.

Vala pouted, disappointed. "No rose petals and candles?"

"Uh, no." He turned onto the main road. "Just little old me."

She brightened, "Oh, well. That's okay," she said giving him a grin.

"Hmmm… glad I'm suitable enough for you," he said shooting her an amused side-glance.

She hummed in response grabbing her giraffe from the floor. She stared at him intently. Seeing a few ruffled furs, she patted them down.

"So, what are you going to name him, if not Walter?" Daniel queried, his voice laced in amusement.

She was oblivious to it as she was now staring back at the stuffed animal with intensity. "Hmmm…I don't know." She sat up a little and looked over at Daniel. "Ideas?"

He looked at her and shook his head. "None."

"Jack?"

"No. You're not naming him Jack," Daniel immediately contradicted, the tone of his voice putting her on notice that she better not ever name anything of theirs Jack.

"But I like that name."

"No."

"Hmm…what about Mitchell?"

"No. You are not making that giraffe the namesake of any of our team members or friends."

"Okay," she said congenially. "How about Luke Skywalker?"

"Luke Skywalker?"

"Yes," she said smiling at the beady-eyed animal.

He shook his head in disbelief, but he kept his eyes on the road. "Whatever."

"You don't disagree then?"

"No, I guess not."

"Excellent!" she said with happiness. "I dub you Luke Skywalker," she said tapping the giraffe gently on the head. "Though Daniel, I may have to keep him at your apartment. I don't want to hurt Walter's feelings."

"That's fine," Daniel complied easily enough. "Just so you know, though, for future reference, if we ever have children, I'm naming them."

She froze. "If we have children?"

He froze. He hadn't intended to make that kind of implication about the state of their relationship. "Uh, you know…" he sputtered, "I was just… saying… for the purpose of debate."

She smiled, snatching his earlier amusement and wearing it as a banner at his obvious embarrassment. "Hmm... I'll keep that in mind."

Tipping her head back and forth in her own pleasure at his flub, she tucked her spotted Luke Skywalker in between her legs before really settling into her seat and staring ahead. Suddenly remembering, she grabbed the seatbelt from behind and snapped it in.

She could hardly contain her excitement. Going to Daniel's was definitely worth the fear and anxiety Daniel had put her through on the mountain. His part of the date may still be a win yet. Even though, it obviously and completely was, she thought with an inner smile.

Daniel's hand came to a rest on her knee.

She looked over at him. His eyes were focused on the road ahead.

He didn't see her loving gaze, but she was sure he felt it because moments later he matched it with a loving squeeze of his own.

She smiled. Maybe she had a chance at one those 'happy ever after' stories after all.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**Roll credits………**

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**A/N:** Hello, lovely readers…You've reached the very last chapter of the **City of the Lost**, at least with regards to FF. I know, hard to believe. However, there is an appendix, a chapter 27, for those old enough to enjoy a rating not suitable for this site. On my bio page here there is a link to my homepage/LJ and you can click on it for the final chapter, which again is not suitable for children under 17.

As far as the plot threads that are still blowing in the breeze…never fear…I may play with them again in a sequel to this piece at some other time, though I don't have any plans for the immediate future. Other DV plot bunnies are a flurry in my brain right now. So keep an eye out, more posting of SG1 stories await!

Sincerest gratitude goes out to the lovely ladies, AerynB and LC who provided amazing guidance and help throughout the evolution of the story. Love you girls!


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